


dreamland

by cornesque



Series: dreamnotfound songbook [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Happy Ending, M/M, Reincarnation, Romance, slight angst, soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 28,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29484897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cornesque/pseuds/cornesque
Summary: dreamland | glass animalswherein george has visions about his past life with dream after a near-death experience,orgeorge and clay struggle as the fine line between platonic and romantic affection gets more and more foggy as time goes on.---intentional lowercase :)
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: dreamnotfound songbook [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2208408
Comments: 28
Kudos: 41





	1. 0 - prologue

0 - prologue ; ghosting | mother mother

george vividly remembers the smile on his face, it was the best accessory he has ever worn; and it was the perfect timing for him to wear the said accessory, nothing was going wrong after all. he and his family walked out of the small cafe happily, they truly were a perfect family - void of toxicity, worries, doubts or distractions. the night was so lovely, george visited his family for the first time in a while, he has been so busy running his tiny flower shop, and they enjoyed each other's company; basking in each other's presence as time passed by.

his mum's smile lines and his dad's wrinkles showed everyone the marks time has given them, however, regardless of time's damage; the pure love within their eyes never faded. george has been so lucky to be raised in a house full of love and warmth. they never had much, but they never fell short; they just had enough, and george was happy about that, he wasn't a big fan of luxury.

but. god decided it was just too perfect. and so, he decided to put a stop to it. the lovely night george had? gone.

whenever george was alone with his thoughts, he often played the car accident over and over and over again, just like a movie; he slowed it down, sped it up - you get the idea.  
it's actually a tad bit funny how george tries so hard to see how it happened and why, considering he never really remember it very well. the details are blurred at the edges, the horror was dulled down - it didn't have the same bite it once had when it had just happened.

to be honest, george should've taken that as a small blessing from whatever god was watching over him that he can't remember it perfectly, he should be grateful, but he isn't - it drives him up the wall that he can't really recall the finer details of things; he can't remember when he flew off the road, he can't remember how it felt slamming into the tree, he couldn't remember because he was laughing with his parents just moments before.

he did remember one thing, he remembered when he woke up, the stench of gasoline and metal (which he has come to realize was blood) invading his lungs, he remembered how his skin was buzzing. george remembered using most of his strength turning his head to look at his parents, he was thrown outside of the car and naturally he wondered where his parents were.

he remembered staring into his mum's blank eyes, his father's figure weirdly bent.

he remembered very clearly that he wasn't numb anymore, he didn't want to die. he realised how much of his life he spent pursuing nothing but his grandparents' unattainable happiness, he wanted to go and visit nick - to tell him how great of a friend he was despite him being...him. he wanted clay to visit his flower shop once more, he missed it when nick would unexpectedly come and bug the crap out of them.

george wanted to roll his eyes at nick's jokes once more, he wanted to hear clay's tea kettle wheeze. he wanted a chance to live.

he was so scared, he thought he was going to die. and he'd never been more terrified. but as he laid down on the pavement, amongst the wreck, he tried desperately to banish those thoughts from his head, but he failed.

george had a thing with cars after that, it was understandable. nobody really talks about it, not really. nick doesn't know much about it, because he didn't want to pressure george into answering questions as to how his family died.

clay knows it's a thing, but he didn't know that it looms over his best friend 24/7, the trauma hanging off of his shoulder, whispering disturbing thoughts into his ear. and darryl, darryl knows it's a thing; he was the first person george called after it happened, he went to the hospital two hours after it happened. darryl cried, and laid the gentlest hand on george's shoulder, reminding him that he loved him and that he was loved.

so, darryl knows about it, but they don't really talk about it. he drives george everywhere after the incident, clay and nick were too fast and reckless. darryl is a good driver and doesn't scare him like nick does, so, george can comfortably sit inside the car and feel okay about it for a millisecond; his mind pumps a constant flow of statistics - 2016, estimated 7,277,000 police related traffic crashes, 37,461 killed, 3,144,000 injured, 102 died, one fatality every 14 minutes.

but, his mind shuts up once he's in darryl's car.

one thing nobody knew about what happened after george's accident was the weird dreams he had afterwards.

"george, we're here now." darryl's soft voice broke george out of his trance, he stared at darryl before smiling and nodding. they planned to come over to clay's place to just hang out and play minecraft, but george felt strange when he was with clay - was he catching feelings? or was it because his best friend was in the dreams he was having?

george and darryl hopped off the car and into clay's place, once you've known someone for years, you'll inevitably develop a habit of not knocking once you enter their place, clay didn't mind. nick was already there, typing a shit ton of stuff on his laptop while clay pestered him.

"c'mon sapnap, school's overrated, just drop the essay." clay draped himself over nick, effectively stopping him from typing altogether.

"bad - clay's bothering me and i have an essay due in an hour." nick whined, dragging his name out. clay looked up and smiled at the sight of george and darryl - but mostly george.

"you're here!" clay beamed, removing himself from nick to stand in front of george, which, george seemed so small when he was with clay, but - even if they were to transfer to a world where clay was a little shorter, george would still be tinier than the green eyed boy.

"i baked brownies, come! let's eat!" clay smiled warmly at george, and no matter how awkward george felt - he reciprocated.

\--

1056 words - January 11, 2021


	2. 1 - white mask

1 - white mask ; villain | stella jang

prince dream adored his parents, he really did. his mother was very humble and kind regardless of her position as queen, and his father loved his mother very much, doing everything for her. they married purely out of love and dream wanted to have that. another reason he adored his parents very much was because of how they raised him, when dream was only six years old - naïve and unaware, he told his mom and dad about his love for men, and they didn't look at him with disgust;  
instead, they smiled and thanked dream for trusting them enough to tell them.

prince dream was merely ten years old when he lost his parents, killed by those in the kingdom who donned yellow clothing. the young prince never really understood at the time, but then, he'd found out that the king from that wretched kingdom wanted him to be betrothed to his daughter once they turn 18, to combine kingdoms, and dream's parents - aware of his sexuality - didn't want to put dream through something he didn't want to, their boy's happiness means everything to them, plus, the kingdom in yellow was corrupt and power hungry, and their values didn't really merge with theirs.

the little prince was out with the head of the royal guard, philza, when it happened, he wanted to learn how to fight so he was sparring with philza's oldest son, with phil's guidance of course - dream sparred with a talented swordsman with long, pink locks; technoblade. dream could remember techno's other siblings watching them; wilbur, the middle child, was sitting off to the side with a guitar too large for his form. while the youngest and his best friend pretended to spar with sticks, dream could recall when philza brought tubbo in - the orphanage he resided in was burnt down, and he was the only one alive, philza couldn't leave him. techno grew fond of the orphan, saying that tubbo would be the only orphan he'd shield from the world's horrific nature.

dream treated the four boys like his siblings, and philza, was like his second father. after techno and the young prince had finished sparring, they all went home to the castle - they were supposed to accompany the prince, it wasn't a big deal, they loved the bright child's company and they themselves also lived there. it was philza who opened the castle doors, only to find the corpses of maids and guards littering the castle, he then asked the boys to stay outside and to never enter the castle for the sight was too much for any child to bear.

small, naïve prince dream didn't listen and sneaked after phil, despite techno telling him not to. he took the fastest route to his parents' bedroom, and when he opened the door - he screamed. his parents' limbs were scattered across the floor, and the next thing he knew, he was staring at his mother's cold, dead eyes. philza ran into the room and hugged the little prince, shielding him from the sight but it has already been too late.

philza didn't know who did it, but a symbol etched into the king's neck was very telling - it was that damn kingdom. and when they were confronted about it, the king just smiled, telling them that that's what they get for not cooperating with them. the head of the royal guard then took the prince under his wing, raising him to be a strong king, raising him alongside his four sons.

when dream grew up, he changed, well -- what the people saw, changed. the once cheerful child was no more, and in his place was a cold, stoic king who valued logic over emotional attachment, he had to be competent - running a kingdom at the age of eighteen will inevitably cause judgement but he needed to be capable to shut them up. the king also didn't leave his kingdom without his plain, white mask; nobody outside of philza and his siblings has seen him without it on. he was great in combat, and he didn't hesitate to plummet someone to the ground once they've wronged his people. his 'dad', stepped down as head of the royal guard and was replaced by techno. the pink haired knight was dream's right hand man, he did everything the king asked but in their eyes - they were equals, no one was superior, and no one was below who, for they've proven time and time again when they were young that they were skilled in their own ways and didn't need to desperately one up each other and give phil a heart attack.

they don't ever talk about that one time when they were 13, when tommy was somehow accidentally thrown on a tree. nobody knows how it happened, but one thing is for sure; it was because of dream and techno's competitiveness when they were younger.

wilbur is now sixteen, having learned magic and how to utilize his songs with magic was a hard ride but he got there - he's now a skilled mage with an ethereal voice. tommy and tubbo, now fourteen, are both underneath techno's wing - both learning how to swordfight, however, tubbo is also dabbling in magic and will sometimes be seen with wilbur - practicing their craft.

dream ruled over the kingdom with an iron fist, he didn't hurt his civilians but they were intimidated by him. princesses threw themselves at him but he didn't budge, he had accepted that him finding love was unlikely. no boy has caught his eye yet, or, when he fell for one - they end up using him, only wanting to be with him for power, needless to say - techno had fun beating the absolute shit out of that manipulative wench.

the king was content, his family was safe, his civilians were safe and he...well, he's keeping everyone safe, and that's all that matters. dream did not need love, even if he wanted it, he didn't need it.

he didn't know he'd find the persephone to his hades once he takes his white mask off.

\--

1020 words - January 12, 2021


	3. 2 - bloom

2 - bloom ; walk with me | taba chake

george has been having dreams about the prince in green and white for some time now, it began after the accident - when the last thing he remembered was staring into his mother's dead eyes, he then dreamt about staring at another lady's dead eyes, but it wasn't his mother. he then lived through the life of the mystery prince, which, oddly looked like his best friend, clay.

now, dreaming about a man who looks an awful lot like his best friend doesn't help, especially when you're catching feelings for said best friend.

george has known for awhile now that he didn't fancy girls, he grew up in an all boys school after all, he told his grandparents about it but all he got was hate and lectures with bible verses. he then cried about it with his parents who in turn had an argument with his grandparents - because why would they ridicule someone, let alone their grandchild, just because of their preference? he's still george, but, the difference is he'll probably end up with a husband rather than a wife.

darryl and nick fell asleep, and george couldn't - after a whole day of playing minecraft and dealing with his friends' shenanigans, he was tired, but his mind couldn't sleep, he couldn't sleep because he knows he'll dream about that prince again.

george wasn't sure if clay's asleep, and so he stood up and entered the kitchen, making a cup of hot cocoa, and, he won't admit it but he has another cup off to the side. was he expecting clay to join him? maybe, maybe his little heart hopes to be with the blond. if he doesn't, then, there will be more hot cocoa for george - it's a win-win situation.

just as he was finished with the drinks, clay entered the kitchen. fate and it's mysteries truly are wonderful.

"can't sleep?" clay asked, george merely nodded, offering clay a cup of hot cocoa. he mumbled a thanks and sat on the kitchen counter.

"george?" clay mumbled, george hummed in response, looking up from his hot cocoa. he meets clay's green orbs, they were filled with anxiety and doubt. "have i done something wrong?"

"what do you mean?" george questioned, clay avoided his gaze, he was looking everywhere and everything but george.

"i don't know, it's just that, you seem so...distant lately? it seems like you're avoiding me." clay stopped, fiddling with his fingers, "i won't be mad if you tell me, i'll gladly change or stop doing what i did that upset you."

george was shocked, to say the least. has he been that obvious? but, he smiled at clay; warm, sweet and genuine.

"no, you didn't do anything." he reassured, "i've just been thinking, a lot, recently." he admitted, it wasn't a lie though -- george has been overthinking alot these past few weeks and months.

"oh? about what, maybe talking about it might help? no pressure though." clay smiled at george, moving closer to george with his hot cocoa enveloped within his cold hands.

george thought about it for what felt like centuries, but in reality it had only been ten seconds. he nodded at clay and sighed.

"can we go out? it feels suffocating in here." george mumbled, anxiety crawling up his back. clay, agreed, because he was happy he didn't mess things up with his best friend -- he liked george too much to lose him.

they liked each other, they were soulmates, but they don't see it. everyone can see the love they had for each other but them. darryl and nick saw it, with nick wanting to help clay and make him finally make a move on george, and darryl restraining nick because he knows george can easily be overwhelmed.

they stood up, leaving their hot cocoa on the counter - they can return to it later anyway, and the two boys exited the house, a comfortable silence surrounding them. clay led george underneath a big, old tree and sat down.

"what's wrong?" clay finally asked, after settling down with his best friend. george stared up at the night sky, admiring the stars and the streetlights.

"i've been thinking alot about the accident." george said weakly, "i know it's silly, i should've gotten over it. and i still miss my parents very much but..." he let out a shaky breath, "i always remember when i was laying down on the side of the road, thinking i was going to die...i wanted to be with nick and darryl, and i wanted to be with you."

george stopped and kept staring up at the sky. clay moved his hand closer to george's but never made contact, his eyes were full of sadness and yearning - gosh, he fucking adored george so much it's scary.

"well, i think it's valid." clay replied, "your feelings are valid, and, don't ever feel silly for thinking about that stuff. what happened to you was very scary. but, i just wanted to say that nick, darryl and i won't leave - we'll be here for you, and just say the word and i'll-" clay stopped himself.

"...we'll, do everything we can to help you." he corrected himself. george just smiled and leaned his head on clay's shoulder, he was in deep, he was falling for clay, and he knows it'll hurt so bad once clay rejects him, but, he'll be selfish just this once and appreciate being close to clay.

the ground was cold and muddy, and george stared up at clay, the atmosphere was laced with love and an indescribable warmth. he can't help but think about the way clay's face would go red whenever he was flustered or whenever he laughed too hard, freckles were lightly splashed across his cheeks and they resemble the night sky, but they were nothing compared to his eyes which contained celestial bodies within them - the sun and the moon shining infinitely inside green meadows and hills. granted, he can't see the exact colour clay's eyes were, but what he saw was so much more.

"thank you, clay." george sincerely said. clay smiled, but george barely saw it from the angle he was at.

"of course, george. i'm here for you." clay wasn't sure if george was aware, but he'd do everything to keep george's pretty smile on his face.

\--

1061 words - January 12, 2021


	4. 3 - persephone

3 - persephone ; epic iii | hadestown

king dream didn't know what came over him when he decided to sneak out of the castle without his mask on, changing into plain clothing and out of his fancy attire, he decided to walk around the village, and suddenly he stumbled across a small cottage inside a forest. it wasn't far from the castle if you know your way, and dream surely knows his way around the village and his kingdom.

the cottage was small and cozy, filled with plants and a vast array of flowers. he couldn't help but stare in awe at the simple, yet pretty little house.

within that small cottage, was george. he was cleaning his place up, the man was often alone but he preferred it that way. the ambience in there was serene; filled with birdsongs and white noise.

that man, george, was 19 years of age - a year older than the king - and with his fluffy hair and enchanting gaze, the king fell in love with the mystery boy. george hummed a few songs as he swept the floor.

he wiped down the windows, watered the flowers and sang with the birds that watched him as he got rid of the dust and grime on his porch. george smiled, leaving bowls of seeds and water for the sparrows to consume. any bird can eat what he has left, but the sparrows are always present. so, he assumed that the sparrows will eat majority of the seeds.

george stopped for awhile and admired his environment, it was quiet and nobody was around - or so he thought. he saw a very handsome man standing near his home, and he smiled.

"hello! are you lost?" george asked, a kind and warm smile on his face. dream was a little surprised, and almost stuttered.

"y-yeah, i'm trying to find my way back to the village."

okay maybe he did stutter, but can you blame him? the man infront of him was so beautiful, and no princess or prince can compare to his beauty. and him? lost? he ruled the kingdom how can he get lost in his land, well technically this cottage was a little outside his land but nobody had to know about his tiny lie.

"okay! you'll just have to head north, and eventually - you'll find your way." george said gently, "stay safe on your trip-"

"uh, may i have your name please? your kindness, i'm sure i won't forget it and i atleast want to know your name." dream cut him off, speaking very fast, and he hopes the man understood him, he also hopes that the ethereal angel infront of him didn't mind the awkwardness.

this was weird, dream often held himself together, but now? he wasn't so sure if he was holding himself at all.

george giggled, which, he didn't do alot. he wasn't very feminine, but he wasn't manly either - nonetheless, the attractive man opposite him got a giggle.

"george, you can call me george." he answered, "and may i ask for your name too?"

"dream, you can call me dream." he smiled.

"very well then mister dream, would you like to come inside for some baked goods?" george offered, and dream couldn't refuse staying with the man a little more, and so he nodded - following george inside his cottage. he hung up his cloak on a rack and sat down on the living room couch.

george smiled to himself, baking was one of his passions; from pies and doughnuts to bread and bagels to meringue to cookies and cake, he learned how to bake them all. seeing the chocolate chips and flour made his eyes shine - it's been awhile since he has made chocolate chip cookies.

he also noted the squirrels, rats, possums and skunks living around the enclosure, george didn't get rid of them - he left them to their own devices for he was fond of animals. and so he left something out for the rodents to eat.

george prepared some tea and entered the living room with his tea set, pouring dream a glass and pouring one for himself.

"so, why is a man like yourself roaming around these woods?" george joked lightly.

"home was a little boring, and i just wanted to walk around, got lost on the way." dream half lied, well it was true - he was bored, but he didn't get lost.

"well, okay, whenever you get bored - you can just come and visit me." george offered, he didn't know what he was thinking, dream might be a murderer or a burglar and he just openly offered his home to him, but those thoughts went away when dream smiled.

"yeah, sure."

george heard his timer go off, and he excused himself, fetching the cookies from the oven. he placed them on a plate and brought them over to the living room.

"careful, it's hot." george gently warned. dream smiled as they talked about themselves, getting to know each other.

dream has come to find out that george was kicked out by his grandparents because of his sexuality and that his parents died when he was four years old, he also found out that george's favourite tea was chamomile and that his favourite flowers were daisies. he was enamoured, he really was.

and george, despite his preference of being alone - actually enjoyed dream's company, he is a tiny bit attracted to the green eyed fellow (he can't really see green though, so, in his case - piss yellow eyed fellow) but that doesn't matter, he knew he didn't have a chance with him - dream was way out of his league.

it was getting dark, and dream had to go. george packed up cookies for him to take on his journey which dream sweetly accepted, with a promise that he'll visit soon.

dream entered the castle when he thought everyone was asleep, only to be greeted by techno.

"so, where were you?" techno asked, he wasn't mad but if you didn't know techno - his monotonous tone is sure to scare you. techno's eyes drifted down to dream's hands, where he held the cookies neatly wrapped up in a pink, checkered cloth tied with a ribbon.

"i see." techno smiled, "mister dream boy's in love, or, infatuated at least."

"shut up techno." dream argued weakly, "i was...lost."

"sure you were."

they both know dream was lying about being lost, and maybe, just maybe - george has sensed he wasn't lost either, from the confidence he had walking away from his cottage, but will he complain? no, after all, he wishes to see dream again.

\--

1102 words - January 13, 2021


	5. 4 - daisies

4 - daisies ; la vie en rose | edith piaf

after the talk with clay, george felt a little okay about the dreams, because what if they were just weird dreams and nothing more? but even if they were only weird dreams, he still has fallen for his best friend - and, falling for your best friend is dangerous, because it might go well or you might lose one of the people you care most about. to be honest, george would rather have clay in his life as a friend than lose him permanently.

he walked up to his flower shop, it was a gift from his parents on his 18th birthday, and george ran it well. he was known for being nice and arranging the prettiest looking bouquets of flowers, so his business wasn't suffering.

the day went on normally, and george loved this simple life of his, he just wished he had someone to share it with - george has so much love to give, and he gives them all to his friends, but there's a special type of love he wants to give out to someone special. maybe, he's thinking of someone specific, perhaps a freckle-filled face with warm, green eyes to match.

he arranged specific requests, such as wedding bouquets and plain ones people would like to give their significant other, but george can't help but think - when will someone give him a bouquet of flowers? he seems to arrange them for other people to receive, but when will someone hand him a bouquet of flowers along with words of love and affection?

the day ended, and before he closed up his shop, a familiar face stopped by.

"gogy!" clay said as he entered the shop, he was wearing a white sweater, skinny jeans and an old pair of shoes he always insisted on wearing.

"hey clay! what's up?" george asked, walking out from his tiny little station, "how are you?"

"chat later, let's hang out!" clay smiled.

"like, right now?" george tilted his head to the side in confusion and clay nodded.

"yea! we could go out and get something to eat, i know you're tired." clay said, leaning against the doorframe, smiling gently at george - honestly, he was just admiring the older man, and george seems oblivious to it.

"uh, sure! just wait for me, and i'll just close my shop." george answered timidly, with a small smile on his face - the one only clay gets to see.

george never knew why, but he always felt something warm and bubbly in his chest whenever he looked at daisies, you can say that they were his favourite flowers. and whenever he looked at clay - he'd get the same feeling.

clay and george walked out of the shop, talking about nonsense and simple things, and george can't help the smile on his face right now, he just felt so happy when he was around clay.

they stopped when an ice cream truck was driving by, clay pulled george by the arm to the ice-cream truck, both of them laughing like children.

"what can i get ya lovebirds?" the old lady asked. she had brown, curly locks with white strands here and there and she gives off strong maternal vibes. she also had a birthmark on her neck, a weird looking one at that.

"oh we're not together." clay awkwardly mumbled. george can't help but feel a pang of pain in his chest, but clay was right though - they were nothing but two best friends.

"apologies, y'all look so adorable together." she smiled at them, and george sadly smiled in return.

"i'll have a chocolate, how 'bout you george?" clay reverted back to his old, smiley self.

"strawberry please." george answered with a gentle smile on his face. the lady then nodded and started preparing their ice cream, humming a sweet and nostalgic lullaby.

"it's almost fall." she started a conversation, stopping her humming. "hades will be with persephone soon."

"ha, don't mind me, just blabbering on and on about my thoughts. here's your ice-cream boys." the lady handed them their dessert and thanked clay for the payment. somehow, this woman was familiar, like they've met her before - but that's silly.

as clay dragged george to another place and continued laughing about the simple things that made them happy, the lady smiled.

"fate's with you on this lifetime."

george and clay sat down on a park bench, eating their ice-creams with clay occasionally sneaking a look at george.

clay, out of nowhere, then booped george's nose with his chocolate ice cream and george lightly protested, taking his index finger and wiping the blob of chocolate on the tip of his nose.

they continued talking and eating comfortably, appreciating each other's presence.

"god, george, you're such a messy eater." clay light-heartedly chided, taking his thumb and wiping off melted strawberry ice-cream from the corner of george's mouth, clay then smiled smugly at george and licked the ice-cream off of his thumb.

"clay!" george lightly whined, "you didn't have to make it gay."

george dropped his facade of being mad when clay let out a wheeze, coughing his lungs out. george then joined him in laughing, and there they were - happy in each other's company.

but, george can't help but think about clay's words earlier. clay was right though, they weren't together, heck, george was setting himself up for heartbreak - he doesn't even know if clay liked guys.

clay noticed the sad look in george's eyes and gently nudged him on his arm, george looked up at clay and smiled, leaning his head against his shoulder.

"see that bright star?" clay asked, pointing to a star in the night sky. "that's you, because you make my days and nights brighter, and you're my refuge when i'm lost."

george was flustered, but smiled.

"you're so cheesy." george responded, with a teasing tone. "well, i think your freckles are pretty."

"you think so?"

"yea, you look like the night sky full of stars, and...looking at you makes me feel so much better."

clay felt the butterflies in his stomach go batshit crazy, both he and george don't know what they are - but they're too afraid to talk to each other about it, so for now, they'll simply eat their ice-creams and talk to each other about the little things in life.

\--

1065 words - January 13, 2021


	6. 5 - pretty boy

5 - pretty boy ; helium | glass animals

george had a slight change in his routine, he always made sure to bake something in the early morning - for he knew dream would come to visit him, dream has been visiting him for almost a year now - both flirting without thinking of the consequences that come after. george actually likes dream's company, with his witty jokes and weird laugh - george was hooked.

however, he does not know much about the man, only that his parents died when he was ten and that a family friend adopted him, now he has four other siblings, also, more importantly - dream's favourite flavour in everything is chocolate. well, george knows that much, but he doesn't know about his current life. but, he trusts dream not to hurt him, because if he gets killed - no one would know for george lived almost nowhere near anyone.

"george!" dream greeted him, hopping off of his horse.

"hi dream! how are you today?" george inquired, noticing that dream is holding a picnic basket.

"everything's good, come! my siblings insisted on making us something for a picnic." he smiled, charming george, "well, techno, tommy and tubbo made a mess while phil and wilbur spearheaded." dream chuckled.

"okay then! tell them i said thank you." george sweetly replied, "can you wait for awhile though? i'm going to go get the cinnamon pie i made. also! i made you a little something."

dream gave george a small smile as the latter cheerfully hopped away to his house, happily packing a basket of his own. he was absolutely smitten, and he secretly hopes dream is too.

george exited his house, carrying the basket he just packed, and hopped on dream's horse.

"hold on tight." dream reminded, ignoring the blush creeping up on his face from the feeling of george wrapping his arms tightly around his midsection.

the king took george to a river, with a curtain of leaves and vines covering the area. the area was filled with birds and creatures who have immediately taken a liking to george. dream felt soft watching the scene before him; after george hopped off the horse, the animals approached him, with george letting out an airy laugh at.

they then set up their picnic, george sat down on the blanket, waiting as dream pulled out the food his siblings have made; they were mostly jam on bread, but it still made george smile.

"you said you had something for me?" dream lightly teased, and george went red - it's irrational for him to be flustered, after all, dream just asked him a question.

"yea." george mumbled, pulling out the pie, and a box of chocolates he made himself, "i know how much you liked chocolates, so, i made you some."

dream felt his heart melt at the gesture, and smiled. he moved closer and leaned forward, pressing his lips against george's forehead.

"thank you, my little daisy." dream mumbled, breathless and flustered.

"daisy?" george giggled, "how awfully sweet can you be?"

"it's true though! you're plain, and simple yet angelic - like a daisy." dream trailed off, "i know it sounds cheesy but-"

"don't worry, i like it." george reassured dream, placing a hand on top of his, and with that, dream smiled back and moved his hand so he was holding george's.

they then start eating, dream said he'll save the chocolates for later because he wanted to savour it but george just laughed and offered dream to make it again for him whenever he liked.

the two boys then talked about their problems, george's was about living alone, and dream's was about the pressure of keeping up a strong front. they trusted each other to tell them about their struggles and they felt lighter, like a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders.

"are you sober?" george asked before taking a bite out of a sandwich, what he meant to ask was if dream was doing okay, but dream got the point of his message anyway. george's eyes stared deeply into dream's, reading and interpreting his expression like tarot cards and webs of destinies. dream averted his eyes away, for he refused to be torn apart and examined piece by piece like a science experiment - he refused to burden george with his problems regarding loneliness.

"i am indeed sober, not by choice." dream replied, and george smiled - gentle, bright and uplifting, taking what dream said at face value.

"that's still good! i mean, for the long run." george tried to cheer dream up, and that gave the king a burst of confidence, one greater than what he had when he gave george that forehead kiss.

"see, the problem is george, i don't have anyone to spend the 'long run' with." dream looked up at george, "and now i've finally decided that i wanted to spend the long run with you."

george then closed the small book he was reading and took another bite out of his sandwich, choking after hearing what dream said. and the confidence dream had? disappeared as fast as it came.

when george finally calmed down, he laughed.

"confident, are we?" he grinned, "well, good to know you like me too pretty boy."

dream didn't hesitate and pressed his lips against george, tasting strawberries and chocolate from his lips, the kiss was sweet and full of yearning between the two boys. george smiled and broke the kiss.

"gosh, you didn't know how terrified i was." dream nervously laughed, "i mean, i liked you from the start, and i didn't know if you'd reciprocate, i was so scared."

george placed a hand on dream's cheek, caressing his face. "you don't have to be afraid, dream. you're wonderful, who wouldn't like you?"

dream leaned into the touch, closing his eyes and smiling. he then put his hand over george's, moving it closer to his lips, kissing his knuckles.

"my pretty daisy, my pretty little daisy." dream whispered, he then opened his eyes and looked at george's - admiring his sun-kissed face and rosy red cheeks, "then this makes us?"

"boyfriends, if you'd like." george smiled, bigger than the other smiles he had today. and with that, dream gave george a peck on the lips once again.

\--

1040 words - January 14, 2021


	7. 6 - where we stand

6 - where we stand ; just friends | potsu

"so, you and george?" nick asked expectantly, a smile dancing around his face. clay was currently playing minecraft with him, fucking around in a random world.

"me and george?" clay didn't look up from his screen, but his question, held alot of weight. as if asking nick to clarify what he meant.

"what's going on between you two?" the college student got to the point quickly, and clay finally looked up from his laptop.

"we're just friends." the blond replied dryly.

"you don't like him?" nick pressed on further.

"i don't even like guys, nick." clay snapped, "plus, friends play around all the time."

nick then stopped, staring at clay with an eyebrow raised.

"look, i'm sorry for snapping, but...i'm straight." clay murmured, "yeah, i'm straight." clay mumbled, as if to convince himself that his words were true.

"don't you think you should tell george where you guys stand?" nick stated, more than a question.

clay stopped, he really wanted to, but george was going through so much. and maybe he did like george a little, a little more than how he liked darryl or nick, but he was straight. there was nothing wrong with gay people, but he was straight. clay liked girls.

"even i'm not sure where we stand, nick." clay said, vulnerable. and nick felt bad for pressuring his friend but he was also friends with george - and he didn't want george to get hurt, he's too kind, and it's clear to see that he likes clay, everybody but clay could see it.

clay felt safe with george, and whenever he was with george - he felt complete, like he was home.

nick's features softened, everyone can see that they liked each other but clay wasn't ready. he deserves to take his time, but george also deserved someone who was sure of him - and nick didn't know if george was willing to wait.

-

"what's up between you and clay?" darryl asked george, they were currently inside the flowershop, sometimes george stayed in there after hours to relax, surrounded by the flowers - he felt home.

"we're just friends." george responded, "but, i like him." he smiled a little, he was a little hurt - he likes clay so much but they were nothing more, and george accepts that, but sometimes he yearns to be with clay - for he feels very happy when he's with his best friend.

"you do?" darryl asked, "does he know?"

"i don't know, i don't even know if he likes guys bad." george sighed, letting go of the spray bottle he sprayed his flowers with, sitting down on his chair and leaning back, "but i really, really like him."

if george sat beside clay and leaned on his shoulder, the latter would wrap his arms around him. it's hard to stay friends and not want more when you aren't separated by too much time and space, their boundaries are blurred and it's messing with george - he really wants to be something more but he's not sure if clay reciprocates.

clay was sweet and kind, fragile yet strong, and he was there for george in times of need. he helped george come out of his shell and get rid of his facade, allowing his light to shine brighter. clay just makes george better, and it's easy to see that george makes clay better too. with george, clay was relaxed, he wasn't that impulsive and restrains himself all for george. after the accident, after george started having those dreams because of a near death experience, clay learned how to be gentle - because george became timid, well, even more timid.

darryl and nick can easily see the shine within george's eyes whenever he was with clay, and they can also see the warmth clay exudes whenever he was with george. but there was something stopping them, hesitance perhaps.

"i know it's not rational, i know i shouldn't ask for more. because if i drive him away then he'll be gone, and i'd rather have him as a friend because of that. but, it really hurts." george mumbled, tears welling up in his eyes, "how can i want to stay friends when he makes me feel this way, bad?"

darryl rushed over from where he was at and kneeled down infront of george. "it's going to be okay, muffin." he consoled.

george silently wept, everything piled up and is hitting him all at once - he felt so alone, especially after his parents were gone, but clay was there for him, offering a different kind of support that darryl and nick couldn't, support with romantic undertones.

to be honest he liked clay even before that, but with clay being so affectionate with him - how could he stop himself from falling deeper? especially with those stupid dreams, with george falling inlove with a king that looks like his best friend, well it might be but even if they loved each other in that lifetime, what makes him so sure that clay still loves him the same?

"if clay finds out, and he doesn't feel the same, i know he won't end the friendship because of that." darryl placed a hand on george's shoulder, circling his thumb around the skin, "even if clay doesn't like you romantically, he still loves you."

now, george isn't crying about clay not reciprocating, he's terrified of the possibility that clay might drop him if he slips and accidentally makes his feelings known. he knows darryl is right, clay isn't like that, but his conscience and his rationality is so blurred by his sadness that logic is nothing against his bad thoughts.

why would clay like him back anyway? even if he possibly liked guys, what's there to like about him? he's just a best friend with some baggage and a flowershop.

george wiped his tears from his puffy eyes, he looked at darryl and smiled, silently thanking him for his company.

"sorry for being all emotional." george let out a watery laugh, "clay and i are just friends...just friends and nothing more."

george thinks to himself that they'll never be more than that, but, deep down, he hopes it's not true.

\--

1033 words - January 15, 2021


	8. 7 - family

7 - family ; welcome to the family | watsky

"what?"

george stared at dream, and dream was looking everywhere but george.

"so let me get this straight." george inhaled, "you're a king, the king of the nation just outside this forest, and you didn't tell me that because?"

"i don't want to scare you away, people usually say i'm cold and stuff." dream sheepishly mumbled, "and, i don't know, i guess i don't want you to only be with me for the wealth?" he trailed off.

george stopped, and stared at his new lover. dream did have a point, if people were to find out about his power, then they'd throw themselves at him - but the love won't be genuine. he can't blame dream for wanting something real, ruling a kingdom is indeed hard.

"okay, i understand." george smiled, "your worries are valid, and, thank you very much for trusting me with that information. my feelings for you won't change, whether you're a peasant boy or a demigod, i love you for you, dream. don't you ever forget that."

"so, do you want to meet my family?" dream asked, and george nodded.

"do you think they'll like me?" george asked, a little nervous about the whole thing.

"what's not to like about you, george? you're perfect." dream smiled, and his smile was contagious - causing george to smile himself.

"okay, when will i get to meet them?" george questioned.

"how 'bout, tomorrow?" dream suggested, and george simply nodded.

"sure, i'd like that." george replied, smiling brightly at dream - he couldn't resist and gave george a small peck on the lips.

george laughed lightly at that, calling dream a dork and kissing him properly. and there they were, two happy people underneath the shining sun.

\--

dream rode his horse off to the back of the castle, and he gently pets his horse's snout before leading her to the barn. if dream adored anything else, it's his horse, spirit.

he then entered the castle, through the back, trying to sneak in until-

"dream! you're home, just in time for dinner." wilbur smiled, with tommy and tubbo trailing behind him.

"oh, okay! thank you, i'll join you guys shortly-"

"where have you been dream? are you with a woman?" tommy asked with his brash voice, and tubbo gently tugged on his sleeve, telling him silently to pump the brakes.

"uh, about that. i have something to tell you all in dinner." dream smiled a little.

"okay then! we'll be waiting. go and change." tubbo gently said, and dream ruffled his younger sibling's hair, going up to his room to go and change his outfit to something more comfortable.

he then changed into a soft, under-tunic beneath an over-tunic and went down to the dining room, sitting at the head of the table, with philza at the other end. techno, tommy, tubbo and wilbur occupying the other seats.

phil then asked them about their day, and the table was bustling with life, with dream and techno occasionally teasing tommy, and tubbo and wilbur laughing along. philza smiled warmly, he very much adored his boys.

"dream, wilbur did say you have something to tell us." philza said, silently urging dream to finally open up.

"i want you guys to meet someone special, i've been talking to him for a year now." dream said, his voice not holding much confidence in fear of his family disagreeing, "i'll bring him over for dinner tomorrow if you're okay with it?"

philza smiled widely, he was very happy for his son. because, of course he wanted for his other oldest to find someone to spend the rest of his life with.

"we'd be very glad for you to bring him over!" phil beamed.

"wait is he the one we made sandwiches for?" tubbo inquired, and dream nodded.

"he loved the sandwiches very much."

"heck yea! i told you guys i'm a phenomenal cook!" tommy boasts.

"you didn't make anything but a mess." techno deadpanned and tommy started protesting, with wilbur laughing in the background.

"dad, did you know dream used to sneak out of the castle with pastries and such. i think it's from his man." tommy jokingly snitched, with wilbur and techno humming in that weird way.

"tommy! you said we shouldn't snitch." tubbo scolded.

philza laughed, full and hearty. he knew, because dream had a shine in his eyes after he met the mystery man, and he'd always snack on pastries and all other sorts of baked goods while doing his duties as king.

"what matters most is, your stupid older brother's happy." techno said light-heartedly, faking a gag afterwards.

they were truly happy for him.

dream smiled, he was happy, with his dad and siblings, and his beloved who will soon be a part of his family.

\--

george entered the castle in dainty clothes, they weren't fancy, but they encapsulated his spirit and just how kind he was.

he brought some strawberries and other fruits from his garden, and george smiled and conversed with the maids when they approached him - offering one some of the cookies he had on him, nonetheless, the workers in the castle adore george.

dream was undeniably happy, with a bounce on his step and a sweet smile on his face and george's hand snugly fit into dream's hand, he was content.

they both sat down the dinner table, with philza at the head of the table this time and tommy, wilbur and techno on the right side of the table, while dream, george and tubbo are on the left. tubbo already likes george, and they silently conversed about the bees in george's garden.

"so, george." phil coughed, "how did you meet our dream over here?" he asked.

"quite a funny story actually." george smiled, "he pretended to be lost when he stumbled across my cottage."

"hey! i really got lost." dream protested as his siblings mocked him.

"sure you did, your majesty." techno said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"boys, stop." phil gently scolded, "you live alone?"

"yes sir." george responded, "my parents were executed when i was a wee lad."

"oh please, phil is fine." phil smiled, "if you don't mind me asking, why were they executed?"

"the flavus kingdom didn't like it when my parents wanted to quit as their sorcerers." george sadly smiled, "so they ran away, they hid me in the cottage when they heard news that the king of flavus are searching for them. their friend got away though, her name was delilah, though i'm not sure where she is."

phil paled when he heard the kingdom's name, flavus. the yellow kingdom. the same kingdom responsible for the previous king and queen's deaths.

"delilah?" wilbur asked, "i know a delilah, she's this kingdom's head sorceress, she teaches me magic every weekdays." the curly haired boy smiled.

"i'd love to meet her." george said, "so you do magic?"

"yea! me and tubbo do!" wilbur beamed, "we usually use songs to do it."

"oh cool! i rarely do it because, i don't know, i'm still afraid i guess. but! i mostly communicate with nature." george replied, smiling at tubbo's reaction. he then promised to bring tubbo and wilbur to his garden one day, with tommy asking to tag along and george happily agreeing.

techno let out a small, rare smile at the sight of dream happy, and his younger siblings getting along well with dream's beloved.

"question though, but don't take this the wrong way. i just don't want dream to get hurt again." techno spoke up, his overprotective nature showing. just because dream was as old as him doesn't mean he's blind and reckless at times.

"techno-" dream whispered, looking at techno with pleading eyes, he didn't want the pink haired knight to scare george away.

"no dream, it's fine." george reassured.

"are you only with dream for the status?" techno got straight to the point, "because if you're only here to use and hurt him then i, myself will gladly show you the door."

"no." george said, with a seriousness dream has never seen before, "i didn't even know he was a king until yesterday."

techno and phil got quiet, and wilbur, tommy and tubbo wanted to exit out the room because of the suffocating atmosphere, but it would be rude if they did.

"i will never hurt dream." george reassured, "he treats me well, so i won't hurt him. believe it or not, i genuinely love dream."

phil looked at george in the eyes, letting out a sigh.

"well then, welcome to the family, son."

\--

1430 words - January 15, 2021


	9. 8 - distract me

8 - distract me ; from me, the moon | lav

it didn't take long for george to pretend that dream's words were for him, when in reality it was for the other george - the one in his past life, were those words for him? technically, yes. however, is clay the one saying those words? he doesn't know. but it fills the gaping hole in his chest, george knows it's not healthy, and that he really shouldn't, but he does anyway. he smiles whenever he wakes up, and doesn't ignore the fuzzy feelings within him, he wants what his past self had - he wanted dream, well, he wanted clay.

george didn't plan on doing anything today, he felt tired and drained, and his friends - niki, along with her best friend, minx, said that she can take over the flowershop for as long as he needs to take a break. he really appreciated those girls, and so he thanked them by baking them a delicious blueberry pie. and now, george is lounging around, drinking tea while fiddling with his phone on the couch, he really didn't expect any company today, until the doorbell rang. he stood up from his place and walked up to the door, looking through the peephole - it was clay.

he then rushed to the bathroom and fixed his disheveled state, shouting out a 'wait!' before walking up to the door again, opening it this time.

"oh, clay! i didn't expect you to come over." george said, genuinely surprised.

"well, i was going to bring chinese takeout over at the flowershop since you don't usually take breaks, and i heard from niki that you didn't feel well today, so i decided to pay you a small visit!" clay replied, holding up plastic bags of chinese takeout.

"aw, thank you! come in, let's hang out for awhile." george smiled, opening the door wider and stepping aside. he didn't want clay over right now because it hurts him even more but at the same time he wants clay over so he can forget about the overthinking he's been doing.

clay set the food down on the small, living room table. aware that they'd eat there instead of the dining room. george excused himself and made clay a cup of tea.

they sat down on the couch and talked for a bit, settling down on the couch. george laughed at clay's jokes and clay smiled at the way george's eyes crinkled whenever he laughed. but, george desperately pushed the butterflies in his stomach away, and clay noticed the change in his expression.

"what's wrong? how're you feeling?" clay asked.

"i don't know, i just feel lethargic i guess. i'm not physically sick, i just don't feel well emotionally." george said, looking down at his almost empty tea cup, swirling the leaves around.

"well, do you want to talk about it?" clay then asked again, hoping george will open up and make himself feel better and lighter.

"no, i don't think so. i don't know, i myself don't understand it yet so i don't think i have much to say." george responded, looking up at clay. that was a lie, george understood what he felt, he knew why he was sad and tired. and it was because of the boy sitting opposite him.

"how about we binge watch movies? a movie night, just you and i." clay hummed, and george nodded, a smile back on his face.

they opened up netflix and just picked random movies to watch, they didn't notice time go by, and they also didn't notice how close they've moved to each other - george was now tucked underneath clay's arm, snuggling with him, they had a huge blanket wrapped around their shoulders as george laid his head on clay's chest, and clay then rested his cheek on george's hair, he was also playing with george's fingers, to say that george didn't mind it was a lie, he felt flustered - cuddling with his crush and his crush almost holding his hand, he was gonna explode, but he just sat there comfortably and focused his eyes on the movie playing in front of them. george didn't even know what movie it was, too distracted by clay.

before they were tangled together, they did make some popcorn, and now clay is eating the popcorn as well as feeding george pieces of popcorn - which george happily accepts.

they might as well be one person because of how close they were.

when the third movie ended, george stood up and went to the bathroom to pee and clay stayed on the couch, looking at memes on his phone.

"okay, i'm back." george announced, sitting back down on the couch, reclaiming his place underneath clay's arm, clay then looked at him - observing his doe eyes and plump lips. "what, do i have something on my face?"

"gogy pretty." clay laughed and george laughed along with him.

"you're such an idiot." george chuckled, staring back at clay, admiring his features.

clay leaned down and captured george's lips in a kiss, and george was frozen, he then slowly melted into it, kissing clay back. this is what he craved, he craved clay, he craved clay's love and affection.

when george was out of breath, he pulled back, and stared at clay in the eyes. he felt like he was floating, and clay's words made him feel like he was on the moon.

"i can't live without you." clay murmured.

"i love you." george slipped, he hasn't realised it yet as he was still in his trance.

something shifted within clay's eyes, realisation. he hastily stood up.

"i have to go." he said in a firm voice, exiting out of george's house, and george couldn't do anything but allow the tears to fall down his face. he fucked up, of course he did. george scared clay away, he thought that maybe because they loved each other in a previous life that they'd still be meant to be together in this one. he wailed and sobbed, wrapping the blanket around himself tighter and tighter, george couldn't breathe, he could still taste clay's lips on his.

george shakily picked his phone up, dialing a number.

"hey muffin, what's up?" darryl's voice came through the phone.

"b-bad, can you p-please come over?" george tried to speak clearly, but his chest heaved and he was cut off by a sob, "can't b-breathe."

"okay muffin i'm on my way, you think you can stay on the phone with me?" darryl responded, acting fast. george muttered a yes, listening to darryl ramble on and on about his day, grounding him. george was independent, but now, he kind of misses his mother's comfort and his father's hugs.

\--

clay sat in his car, after listening to george's cries he rushed to his car and drove off. he didn't know what the fuck he was thinking, all he knew was he wanted to kiss george. but he was straight, he was sure he was. he liked girls and not boys.

he wants to drive back and comfort george, to tell him he loved him too. he can't help but imagine a life with george, happily married together. but what will phil think? what will his siblings think? he doesn't even know if they're fine with this kind of stuff.

clay hyperventilated as he came into a realization, he loved george, he liked boys. but he had already fucked up, he can't drive back. he can't tell phil, phil and his siblings are all he has left. clay couldn't help but cry, his identity crisis hitting him all at once.

all he can do was cry, while listening to the radio.

will your heart ever forgive my skin?

\--

1290 words - January 19, 2021


	10. 9 - union

9 - union ; the second waltz | andré rieu

was george rejected by clay? he doesn't know. it's all unclear, confusing, and after crying on darryl's shoulder, with darryl trying so hard not to be mad at clay for unintentionally messing with his friend's head. but he doesn't know clay's side of the story yet, he can't be mad yet, and he just did what he can - offer george his company, to which george gracefully accepted.

darryl stayed over, taking the couch. and george went up to his bedroom to sleep -- a very long sleep, he hoped to be in his dreamland, reliving his past life where dream-clay? whoever the man was, reciprocated his feelings towards him.

today was the day dream and george were to be wed, they've been together for about three years now, they were going to be wed in a forest and everyone was invited and free to come - the people in dream's nation and people from other nations. they weren't opposed to the idea of two men being married, well, they can't speak up - they're all too intimidated by dream's cold exterior, techno's swordsmanship, philza's dark, mighty wings and sharp talons, as well as wilbur's ghostly aura.

the maids were fixing george up, he was wearing a plain ruffle shirts with brown pants, a flower crown resting on his scalp, along with a veil covering his face - embroidered with different flowers, with a vast array of coloured threads. dream was wearing almost the same thing with minor differences, as well as his iconic white masquerade mask.

many people showed up at the event, taking their seats while conversing among themselves. dream stood at the right side of the pastor, with phil and techno by his side. tubbo was their ring bearer and tommy, he threw flowers aggressively at everyone. wilbur, was sat on the left side with his guitar - playing songs dream and george adored.

earlier this year, george met delilah - a sorceress with brown, curly locks and one green eye, the other was a milky white, permanently blinded. she also had a peculiar mark on her neck from the flavus kingdom, though she burned most of it off, it was barely visible.

before george walked down the aisle, delilah have him a bone crushing hug.

"your parents would've been so proud of you." she whispered, wiping a tear away from george's cheek. she adored the boy like his own son, and she was also very proud of him.

dream was nervous, and phil smiled at him in hopes to comfort him. wilbur then looked up to see george at the entryway, he smiled and started to play the song he caught dream humming when he was eating george's pastries, or adoring george in general. dream looked at the aisle and saw his future husband walking down with delilah, and tears welled up in his eyes - george looked absolutely beautiful.

"dream." techno quietly handed him a white handkerchief, and he gracefully accepted - wiping his eyes with it.

delilah handed george over to dream, and they stared at each other in awe as the pastor said the stuff he was supposed to, dream snapped out of his daze when he was asked to recite his vows.

"george, i remember that day i found you in your small cottage. you looked absolutely ethereal, i was starstruck." dream started, "i was so starstruck that i even pretended to be lost, that i didn't know the area." he chuckled.

"then you treated me with kindness, feeding me a plethora of pastries and sweets, sharing stories underneath the clear blue sky, that was when i knew it wasn't infatuation anymore - what i felt for you was more than that." dream held george's hands tighter than ever before, and george squeezed in return, comforting him and urging him to continue.

"you are my north star, my polaris, you encompass the way home, and you render the thoughts of aimless wandering to be obsolete. you're my home and i hope i am yours." dream continued, and george smiled at him, mouthing a 'you're my home' to him, making him chuckle.

"lord knows that i love you with every fiber of my being; i love you as you are, because i know that you are mine and i am yours." dream paused and took a breath, "you exist underneath my skin; the cause of stardust running through my veins, of my bones shattering to pieces as stars and supernovas spilled out of the sharp, hollow pieces of collagen and calcium phosphate. you're the creature my heart sings hymns and lullabies to, the reason why the flowers in my lungs bloom brighter than they ever did in the past few years."

george's eyes were full of tears, and they were threatening to fall at any moment, all he felt for the man before him was nothing but love and adoration.

"and so, george. i vow to protect you from the world, allow them to go through me before hurting you. i vow to be with you on your constant trips to the forest, looking at flowers and different sceneries. and finally, i vow to love you forever, and ever - until all of our hairs turn gray and more than that, i will love you for eternity, and i promise that this love will last for lifetimes." dream stopped, encouraging george to start.

"dream, i remember when you took me out on our fourth date, you wanted to hold my hands, but i was hesitant - my hands were abnormally cold and sweaty and i was scared you'd pull back. but no, you just smiled and held my hand anyway, wrapping them with your warmth, and just like that, you've melted my frozen heart." george said, smiling at the end, "i know i always lean on you, but i vow to let you lean on me when times get tough, lean on me as we sit on the rooftop, like we used to. you can stare at me with your sleepy eyes and i'd joke about you having a staring problem. and when the moon is bright enough, we'll come home together and fall asleep to the crooning lullabies of sheet music."

as the townsfolk watched the scene unfold, their hearts were filled with warmth and joy. no matter how cold or stoic the king was to them, what they're witnessing was pure love and even the most ruthless king was capable of it.

"i remembered when i realized that i loved you, i couldn't - i just can't let you go. you are sweet and compassionate, and a genius. you were out of my league but you loved me, you were this mythical being that crashed into my life and i love you so much." george took a breath, "and so, i vow to love you forever, to love you as you are, and to stay by your side till the end of time, for you took me to a different universe where no one could find me as my feet left the ground, you took me somewhere peculiar; a place where flowers bloomed and the birds sang pretty songs on tree tops. you took me to a place so special because it was just you and i."

they admired each other, zoning out, the pastor's voice becoming nothing but white noise, and as tubbo handed them the rings, they were asked the same question, their answers the same.

"i do." dream smiled.

"i do." george stared at dream with a twinkle in his eyes.

and so, they kissed. with george taking dream's mask off to cover themselves the view.

\--

1273 words - January 21, 2021


	11. 10 - badly stirred

10 - badly stirred ; mellohi | c418

the ceremony ended, and after the guests ate and brought food home for their families, the maids cleaned up, with george, dream, techno, phil, wilbur, tommy and tubbo helping out. they didn't expect any other visitors today, whoever came earlier were the only ones they expected. what they didn't expect were the guards failing to stop somebody from entering the kingdom.

"your majesty, h-he's here." a guard ran in.

"who's here?" dream asked, cold, eyes piercing through his mask.

and entered the old, wrinkly, wicked king of flavus. he used to be a court jester for flavus, but he killed the king and queen in cold blood, taking over the kingdom with an iron fist. women, men, anyone who catches his eye will be added onto his collection of slaves.

"dream, my boy! you didn't tell me you were about to be wed." the king, impius, boomed. an eerie smile stretched upon his face, "i want to meet the person you've replaced my darling flora with."

flora, such a sweet girl. manipulated and tormented by her father, she was innocent and pure but was corrupted and soiled by her own father, she was going to be betrothed to dream, but his parents refused, angering impius and causing him to annihilate dream's parents.

dream instinctively pushed george behind him, and of course impius noticed the action tilting his head and smiling even wider upon the sight of george.

"who do we have here?" impius walked forward, almost slithering, but dream moved himself infront of george even more. "woah there tiger, i just want a look."

techno stood beside phil, his hand on his sword, about to draw it out, but phil placed a hand on top of techno's, silently telling his son not to do anything reckless. wilbur pulled tommy and tubbo away upon reading the room.

"what a pretty boy you have, no wonder flora didn't stand a chance." impius grabbed george by the arm and pulled him from behind dream, placing his thumb and index finger on george's chin - lifting it up. he smirked, tracing his index finger around a spot on george's neck, the same spot where delilah had her mark, and a faint glow had appeared from where his finger had trailed, "but i'm afraid this pretty boy came from my land."

"say, little lamb. you were the escapee, weren't you?" impius grinned. he was referring to george's parents, "how 'bout you pay for what your parents have done and stay with me instead?"

george trembled, remembering things he never knew he would, and dream growled upon seeing george's reaction and pulled his husband back, whispering for him to go to where tommy and tubbo are.

"don't you dare lay another finger on my husband, he belongs in my land now." dream threatened, but impius just laughed at him.

"if i could ruin your parents, what makes you think your lamb is safe?" impius said darkly. techno raised a hand the guards frantically escorted him out of the castle with impius laughing loudly at dream.

dream took a deep breath, and turned around - looking at phil and techno.

"i'll tend to george." dream said quietly, dismissing phil and techno as well as his entourage who watched the whole thing, mouth agape.

the king walked into phil and his sons' sleeping quarters, well, it's sort of like a house but for them only, and he entered tommy, tubbo and wilbur's bedroom (they all insisted to share, while phil and techno had their own rooms.), to see his husband sobbing and hyperventilating.

"daisy, daisy. what's wrong little daisy?" dream rushed over to george's side, motioning for the three other boys to give them some time alone. george couldn't breathe, and whenever he did he was cut off by his own cries. so dream exaggerated his breathing for george to follow, and it worked, but george was still a little shaken up.

"can i touch you?" dream asked gently, and george nodded, breathing with a little difficulty. dream smiled and took george's hands in his, whistling.

"i'll swim and sail on savage seas." he started singing lightly, tracing circles around george's knuckles, "with never a fear of drowning."

george's cries start to soften, and dream smiled gently. "and gladly ride the waves of life, if you would marry me." dream continued.

"even though, we're already married, i'd marry you again." dream chuckled for a second before going again, "no scorching sun nor freezing cold, will stop me on my journey."

dream stared at george's eyes, his husband's eyes still looked very upset, "if you promise me your heart, and love..." dream trailed off, looking down.

was he a good husband? not even first day of being married and his husband was harassed by that disgusting, old man. he couldn't even protect his husband, how sucky could he be?

"and love me for eternity." george mumbled, moving his hand to caress dream's face, and dream leaned into the touch, placing his hand over george. and as dream stared into george's loving eyes, he vowed not to see heartbreak within those orbs anymore. and he just had to do one thing.

\--

once dream was sure george was asleep, he snuck out of their bedroom and entered his office. already seeing techno there.

"your majesty." techno bowed, he knew his brother was beyond livid, and bantering can continue later but for now - proper etiquette is what matters most, and impius didn't display proper etiquette. nobody touches what is dream's without getting slaughtered.

"techno. i need you to run an errand for me." dream looked out the window, the moonlight dripping into the room, shining on techno's sword.

"what is it?" techno asked.

"i guess you can predict what i'm going to ask of you, we are two sides of the same coin after all." dream smirked.

"you want impius to be rid of his head, do you not?" techno said, and dream clapped his hand giddily, unhinged.

"bravo! always so smart." he smiled widely, "we need to rid this world of pests, and that pest just touched something that isn't his."

"but what if they come for us next?" techno asked, if he was going to do something for dream, he didn't want to do it out of blind loyalty unless he knows that the rest of his family was safe.

"then i am going to give you an order, if that happens." dream turned around to face techno, his face calm, and a genuine smile on his face. dream had given up, that was when techno realized, that dream would risk his life for george. even if that didn't give them the happy ending they wanted, atleast george was far away and impius was no more.

"so, are you up to the task?" dream asked, his eyes shining dangerously, "because if not, i'd gladly do it myself."

techno swallowed the lump in his throat, and nodded. he thinks this will most likely be the last task he'll do for his brother, because this will inevitably cause chaos upon the land, but dream didn't care, he didn't care anymore, getting rid of that stupid king and protecting his beloved was his priority.

"good, you are dismissed." dream said, waving a hand. techno nodded, bowing once again before tiptoeing to their extension of the castle, only to see tubbo awake.

"tubbo, what are you doing up so late?" techno asked gently, kneeling infront of his youngest sibling.

"had a nightmare, don't wanna wake up dad, wilbur or tommy. you're usually awake." tubbo mumbled, and techno sighed before smiling at the child.

"okay then, want milk and cookies? i know george has some leftovers from the batch he baked." techno offered, and tubbo smiled, nodding giddily.

they walked to their kitchen and onto the dining area, sitting on the big table. manners didn't matter right now.

"techno?" tubbo called, with techno giving a grunt in acknowledgement.

"is dream going to be alright?"

techno stopped, staring right ahead. he then looked at tubbo, who stared at him with hopeful eyes. dream was close to their siblings, and they loved him very much, and so techno mustered up a smile.

"of course, your big brother's strong. he'll be alright." techno responded.

"what if something bad happens to him?" tubbo asked.

"then, we'll protect george. that's what he'll want." techno smiled, and tubbo smiled in return, there they sat in comfortable silence, eating away at george's leftover pastries from the day before.

\--

1420 words - January 22, 2021


	12. 11 - downhill

11 - downhill ; lifetime | ben&ben

george has been sleeping alot, and it's worrying darryl. he almost refused to exit out of his room and puts up a small fight whenever darryl brings some food over. because of how long darryl decided to stay, zak decided to follow suit and help darryl. they found out what had happened, long story short - george likes clay, but clay is making it so unclear whether he reciprocates, further confusing george when he kissed his lips but ran away afterwards. he tried desperately to understand what was going on but maybe, clay was just bored, or maybe there was something missing from george. he's been dozing off alot,  
hoping to be with dream, hoping the dreams he's having are a reality. technically, they are.

"muffin, do you want to go with skep and i? we're going out to get some food." darryl knocked gently, george was laying down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"no, i'll stay here. stay safe you guys." george said, barely audible but darryl somehow picked up on it. darryl sighed, walking away from george's door.

when the dreams became longer, the time skips became evident. he missed the first three years of his past self and dream's relationship, but it was there. he remembers braiding techno's long locks, along with tommy and tubbo messing with their older brother's hair, dream and wilbur writing songs together.

george rolled over, facing the left side of the wall. he wanted to sleep so bad, he really wanted to go back to his dream, but he was a little scared at the same time -- dream has been planning something, though he doesn't know what, he is a little scared to see where his dreams will go. but, despite his fears, he closed his eyes and slept.

\--

"i fucked up man." clay mumbled, his head in his hands.

"you kissed george, and kept flirting with him, but you don't like him?" nick asked.

"it's not that i don't like him! i just..." clay stopped, "i like him, very much. gosh, it's so stupid how much i adore him, nick. but i don't know what phil will think, what you guys will think. being gay isn't bad but i don't know if people will accept me if i was."

"there's nothing wrong with being gay." nick responded, "and we'll surely accept you, but you need to tell george these things, you need to clear things up. george has been through too much shit, and he deserves a happy ending, he deserves love. but, he deserves a love that will never hide."

nick paused, "you deserve to take your time, but george also deserves to be out and open with his love."

"i am ready, i..." clay inhaled, trembling. "i love him, nick."

\--

when george fell asleep, he wasn't seeing things from his point of view, sort of like when dream called techno to ask him for something; george was like a phantom. it has been a few months since their wedding and they've stayed lowkey. now, today was the day impius was to be killed. techno exited out of the house early in the morning, bumping into wilbur.

"where are you going?" wilbur asked.

"i'm going to do some errands." techno responded, short and straight to the point.

"okay, stay safe techno." wilbur smiled, and techno returned the gesture, ruffling wilbur's curls. he then walked to the barn, unleashing his horse and hopping on.

he took a hidden route and when he got to flavus, he stealthily climbed up to impius's bedroom, where the king was still asleep. techno covered the king's mouth and with a swift motion, slid his dagger through the king's throat, the man's eyes were wide open, gurgling blood as he stared up at his killer. and when he closed his eyes, techno rushed out of the room and hopped on his horse - riding back to dream's castle.

dream took pride in the way techno worked, he was clean, not a blotch of blood on his white clothes.

impius, with the last of his energy and life, brought his index finger toward his neck, and with his blood - drew a smiley face on his white sheets. a clear sign as to who killed him, his men would find out about this, and flora would find out about this - flora didn't love him, but he groomed her to be mindless and blind. after all, she didn't want to be a disappointment.

the king drilled into the princess's head that she was unwanted, that king dream rejected her when she was set up to marry him. impius took his daughter and shattered her, leaving a husk of a girl controlled by the ministers.

a maid entered impius's room, shouting out in shock upon seeing the king's corpse. guards rushed in and alerted the ministers of what had happened. flora walked in, still in her nightgown, and saw her father's dead body. she almost grinned, she was free, but when she heard the ministers' voices, flora lost all hope.

they took notice of the smiley face written in blood right beside the king's right hand.

"princess, it was from dream's kingdom." one of the ministers said.

"you need to take action." another one chimed in.

flora stared at the ground, her head filled with the ministers' demands, but she was snapped out of her daze when she heard the prime minister's remark.

"you truly are useless, flora."

her head snapped up, unexplained rage within her eyes, "as the princess of flavus, my order, is to lay low for awhile."

the prime minister's expression indicated that he was a little annoyed at flora's decree, they all had a distaste for dream's kingdom, because it was stronger than theirs.

"allow me to have a few days to think about the situation, and what we can do in retaliation. dream is strong, and we have to prepare." flora said coldly.

flora didn't have a dislike for dream, and she didn't want unnecessary wars to happen and innocent lives to be stripped away from husks and bodies, but, she is one forced smile away from wreaking havoc and taking the green king's prince as their own.

\--

george was nudged awake, the rest of his dream was blurry, but what he picked up from it was that the lifetime where he belonged to dream? it didn't end well, and they probably won't have a happy ending in this one. george wanted to sob, to wail, to cry his heart out, but, he looked up and saw clay. darryl and zak brought him in, and the sight of clay brought him back to reality.

"hi." clay mumbled awkwardly. his hair was messy, eyes red and puffy.

"hello." george responded.

"i..." clay started, "i'm sorry."

clay kneeled infront of george, and george sat up. the blond took george's face in his hands, looking deep into the older's eyes, he brought his lips into george's, and as their lips were molded together, clay felt nothing but bliss.

he pulled away, staring at george again, "i love you too."

george smiled, small and sweet. "what are we, clay?"

clay didn't answer, and looked down instead. they weren't ready to talk about that yet, george really wants some clarification, but he doesn't want to scare clay away because he wants a label. but, by pushing it away, george is hurting himself.

even if it hurts, george would like to stay with clay a little longer.

\--

1252 words - January 24, 2021


	13. 12 - tragedy

12 - tragedy ; i don't want to set the world on fire | 2wei (cover)

flora was a beauty, with curly chestnut hair and bright green eyes, she was sure to make men swoon. except dream, dream didn't really accept flora when they were meant to be wed at the age of 18, but the girl didn't mind it. flora was good friends with the little prince when they were younger. but, flora's heart belongs to another, yet the love was forbidden - flavus wasn't as open or accepting as dream's kingdom, so they had to hide.

the princess - soon to be queen - sat on her bed, silently crying about the harsh words said to her by the ministers. flora had serious self worth issues, and she just can't hide her tears today, and even though her father was a dick, even though her father was an asshole that touched her in ways no father shouldn't have - she still felt alone, flora felt a little sad about her father's passing.

"flower." a maid, with strawberry blonde hair and pretty brown eyes, entered the room, and upon seeing the tears on the princess's face - she rushed over to her side. "oh, darling. what happened?"

"they s-said i was worthless." flora sobbed, breathing heavily.

"okay love, breathe for me." the maid, sunny, said. and flora followed, once she was okay, sunny pressed a long kiss onto flora's lips, pulling away to look back at her lover. "you're everything to me, flower. i love you."

"i love you too." flora smiled.

what they didn't know was the prime minister was listening to them through the door. of course. flora is having an affair with the maid, a disappointment indeed.

"sunny, i don't wanna be here anymore." flora mumbled, "let's run away, together."

sunny looked at flora, seeing the pain she was in, and nodded. she knew what the princess has been through, they grew up together.

"okay, we leave tomorrow at dawn." sunny responded.

the prime minister grinned, now he knows exactly what to do to get flora to do whatever he says, and that might just involve her little lover.

\--

sunny was in her room at the maid's quarters, they each had their own. and she was packing a small bag for her and flora, that was until a guard entered her room.

"hey, what are you doing-" sunny was cut off by the guard placing his hand over her mouth and hugging her, he then pulled out a dagger out of his sleeve and started stabbing sunny repeatedly.

the maid coughed up blood, and after awhile, she fell limp - her head on the guard's shoulder. the guard then left her body there for flora to find, as instructed by the prime minister.

a few hours passed, and flora was wondering why sunny wasn't showing up at her room. taking matters into her own hands, she sneaked into the maid's quarters and into sunny's room, gasping as she saw her lover's corpse.

"no, no, no." she cried, "love, darling. please don't leave me." flora sobbed as she cradled her lover's corpse in her arms.

"good riddance." the prime minister said behind her, "i found her to be too clumsy, that wench spilled on my vest a week ago."

"what the hell did you do?" flora said angrily, tears in her eyes.

"i did something good, princess. this woman was blurring your vision, you became blind to your goals because of that little lady." the prime minister smirked at flora, "now, don't you think it's unfair how dream is just at his castle, playing around with his little boy toy. he took your father away, and look what little dreamie caused, he made me get rid of little sunny over here."

flora, overcome with grief, rage and emptiness, couldn't control her words. her mouth moved before her mind did.

"make sure their village is burned down, give me dream's head and mask, that should prove that i am a competent leader."

the prime minister smiled wider than ever before, "of course, princess. we'll attack three days from now."

\--

dream and george were managing things regarding their nation when techno ran in, "they're here, and they've attacked the villages first."

the king looked up, and looked at his husband. he cupped george's face in his hands, and kissed him.

"george, listen to me. you are to go with techno, phil, and my siblings. i will follow." dream said sternly, he then looked up at techno, nodding.

"dream, no." george's eyes filled up with tears, "please, let me stay with you."

"george, it's time to go." techno said, pulling george by the arm.

"no, techno, let me go. let me stay with dream please." george sobbed, flailing around, trying to break free from techno's grip.

"i can't. the king has ordered me to prioritize your safety above all else." techno responded. george looked back at dream, who just gave him a genuine smile.

"i love you, my daisy."

george let out a wail as techno pulled him out of the room. dream's smile disappeared, and he placed his white mask on his face as delilah entered.

"delilah, do you remember the favour you owed me after i saved you from flavus?" dream asked.

"of course." delilah responded.

"i'd like to ask you for something."

\--

george hopped on a horse with techno, wilbur had his own and tommy and tubbo shared a horse while phil opted to fly, his dark, bird legs on display.

they ran towards the forest, and techno manoeuvered his horse to the right as he heard a knight from flavus chasing them, shooting them with a bow. phil acted fast and turned towards the pursuer, shooting him on the head as well as the others with him. they felt limp, and their corpses fell from their horses as the animals panicked.

now, all of them faced forward, as they ran towards their hideout. tears were still running down george's face, but he remembers what his lover said - that he'll follow them.

and he hopes to god his husband fulfills that promise.

\--

dream sat alone in the throne room, waiting for the people of flavus. he heard the roars and screams of war outside his castle, and the king stood up, walking towards his and george's phonograph, playing their favourite song.

he hummed along and looked out the window, fiddling with his growing hair. dream reminisced about the four, almost five, years he and george have been together. and to be honest, they were the best years of his short life. he wasn't sure if he was going to live, but he was going to die happily knowing that george and his family got away.

"i just want to start a flame in your heart." dream sang, and his head turned slowly when the doors were forcefully opened. they were here.

\--

1146 words - January 26, 2021


	14. 13 - dinner

13 - dinner ; fools | nathan & mercury

after that night, george and clay went back to normal, but there was an unspoken tension between them - they've yet to talk about where they stand and what they are specifically, george wants to, but in fear of making clay uncomfortable - he doesn't. he holds his tongue because he doesn't want to make his best friend pressured to address things. george was very comfortable, comfortable with himself and his sexuality, and he can see that clay wasn't, he'd gladly wait for the blond, whether it would take a day, a week, a month, a year, an eternity or another lifetime - he'd still be there for clay, as a friend and more.

clay, however, wants to talk to george. he wants to officially make george his, but he doesn't know how phil will react, how his siblings will react - they're the only family he has left, and he can't risk losing them. but he really wants to hold george's hands, to pepper his face with kisses, to tell him how much the brit meant to him, but his fear was stopping him. clay had so much to lose, he can lose george and ruin the friendship, he can lose his family, and he can lose nick and darryl by putting a wrench between their friendship.

thanksgiving was coming up, and darryl wants to hold a thanksgiving dinner right before actual thanksgiving, since clay, nick, darryl and zak will come back to their families, george had no one, and of course they want george to feel loved so they've planned the dinner. george appreciated the gesture, he truly felt the love from his friends, and he'd never trade them for the world. george will gladly swallow his troubles in order to enjoy his thanksgiving dinner with his friends, he will gladly keep quiet about his and clay's troubles.

george took over the flowershop once again, things were a little okay, okay enough to keep himself stable. after all, he missed interacting with frequent customers and new ones as well. the dreams he had were still on his mind, no matter how much he tried to forget about them, it was stuck in his mind - he didn't want the constant reminder that he and dream didn't have a happy ending, and a happy ending in this lifetime is also unlikely.

clay deserves to take his time, but making george hide once again would be very unfair.

you can't step in the same river twice, but when the silence overtakes the surroundings, it keeps telling george the same old stories about he and dream, about the car crash, it keeps repeating the tale so much that sometimes george found ink from faded photographs and love letters staining his lips, fill his stomach and run through his throat. he was drowning in ink and no matter how much he tried to get those bad memories out of his head, it has stained his heart, soul and mind.

everything was fine, everything was perfect. george doesn't want to depend on clay to the point where he can't say his own name and doesn't know what to do without him. george doesn't have hope, this might not end well, and george would love to think that it won't matter, but it will. clay means so much to him, and as much as he didn't like to admit it - he slept well when the blond was beside him.

everything was fine. everything was perfect.

george couldn't help but think of his past self, he always had messy hair in contrast to dream's slicked back hair, and even if he didn't fix his hair that much - george always found himself braiding techno's hair before missions or shifts, with tommy and tubbo insisting to help, the pink haired knight was fine with tubbo and george messing with his hair, it was tommy he didn't trust. george would also practice magic with wilbur and tubbo, singing and playing around with flowers. he bonded with tommy as well, baking pastries with him when the child asked. george also had deep conversations with philza, about life and all that - after their time together, phil just knew that george's love was genuine.

whenever they were alone - the king's hair was fluffy and messy as well. dream would often find flowers and leaves embedded into george's scalp whenever the brit rested his head on the king's shoulder. he wants to go stargazing with clay, george missed the simpler times when they weren't pressured to have a label. george missed clay very much.

the leaves of cottonwoods chipped in the breeze as george stared out the window of his tiny flowershop, after he wraps up for today - he will have the dinner with his friends. sometimes, george writes, and he has forgotten how and what to write after he thought he has lost and fucked shit up with clay, he thought he had lost his muse, and so george just listened to the birds and the crinkling of the leaves while watching the sun go down.

when it was time, george stood up from his seat and out he went, closing his shop down. he pocketed his keys and started walking home, coming across the ice cream truck he and clay bought from before.

"hi darling, what can i get 'ya?" the lady asked, she suddenly looked familiar, then suddenly it hit - delilah.

"uh, strawberry please." george mumbled quietly.

"okay sweetheart, coming right up!" she smiled, genuine and warm. while she was scooping up the strawberry ice cream to place in the little paper cup she often used to contain the dessert, the cup was filled with swirls and stripes of different colours - george couldn't see it all, but he had an idea of what they might be.

"here you go." delilah handed george the treat, and accepted the money. "that look of recognition, i take it you know me?" she asked, light hearted.

"i'm sorry if i seemed rude." george apologized.

"no hun, it's fine. just believe me when i say that everything will be alright." delilah reassured, blinking and showing george her other eye turning into its old, milky white colour. it really was her.

"thank you, have a nice day." george smiled.

"you too, flower boy."

\--

george entered his house and changed his clothes to something more presentable and casual, and once he was done - he exited out of his house and walked over to darryl and zak's apartment on the fourth floor of the building they were in. it wasn't far but it also wasn't near, and george preferred walking rather than driving for reasons.

once he approached their door, he raised his fist to knock, but the door was swung open by nick.

"gogy!" he yelled, pulling the brit into a hug.

"ew, nick. you stink." george teased.

"you're so rude, and i'm so hurt gogy." nick smiled, placing a hand over his chest, "my heart is broken because you called me stinky george, kiss it better."

"shut up and let me in." george laughed, nick joining along and stepping aside.

george and nick entered to see zak in the living room on his phone, george waved at him, and zak smiled, waving back and looking back down at his phone.

they entered the kitchen to see clay messing with darryl while the latter was finishing up the food.

"hey! you're already here. just wait for us in the dining room, we're almost done." darryl smiled.

george knew nick was going to stay there with darryl and clay, just to help clay mess with darryl, but george pulled nick by the collar of his shirt and laughed at his protests.

the two sat down on the dining table, with zak following them, and they fell into a comfortable conversation about games and their daily lives. darryl and clay entered the dining room, placing the food down on the table and joining in on their conversation.

"uh, george. we also ordered some pizza, if it gets here can you go get it with nick?" darryl asked.

"yeah, sure." george responded.

"more time with gogy! maybe, he'll even give me a kith." nick puckered his lips and george pushed it away, clay was wheezing, popping a lung at his best friends.

darryl heard his phone make a sound, and when he opened it to check, looked up at george afterwards.

"george, the pizza's here." darryl said, george nodded and stood up with nick, walking instead of using the elevator because some kids broke it. darryl looked at clay, with something unknown in his eyes.

"clay, what are you and george?" darryl asked. clay swallowed the lump in his throat and looked back at darryl, zak whispering to darryl to stop.

"friends. we're friends." clay replied.

"do you like him?" darryl interrogated, and clay avoided eye contact.

"i do." clay mumbled, looking down at his hands.

"then what's stopping you from telling him?" darryl asked once more, "i know you're not ready, but friends don't just kiss each other, hold hands and tell them that they can't live without each other." darryl raised his voice, and clay couldn't reply.

"please don't be unfair to him. don't play with his heart."

\--

nick and george walked down to the ground floor and waited. nick turned to george, he looked so tired, like he was looking through the buildings and the people around him.

"the pizza gets here in 20 minutes." nick started up a conversation, "but, now's a good chance to ask you - how are you, george?" nick asked.

"i'm good." george responded, short and simple.

"no, genuinely. how are you?" nick pressed on.

"i just, i don't know. i'm a little confused, i guess." george admitted.

"about clay?" the younger asked.

george stopped, and looked at nick. "yeah."

"he loves you." nick said.

"he does?" george questioned, looking deep into nick's eyes, looking for a hint of dishonesty, but he found none.

"yeah, he's just afraid. afraid to lose you, and afraid to lose his family." nick explained, "it's not my place to say, but, he really does love you, george. but he deserves to take his time."

"i know he does, and i'll gladly wait for him." george replied, "i just want a little clarity as to what we are. i don't know if we're just friends or if we're exclusive or what. friends don't make out with each other, nick."

"he said he's ready, that he's ready to make you his, but he's afraid of what phil will think." nick sighed, "just, patience, george."

"i've been trying so hard to be patient with him but it hurts, nick." george said, tears welling up in his eyes, "i don't know if he's genuinely interested or just playing with me, and i so badly want to believe you, but i can't help but overthink. i need to hear it from him."

nick placed a hand on george's shoulder, smiling, "everything will be alright, george. stay strong."

george smiled back, and the pizza delivery guy arrived, they paid for the pizza and went upstairs, hearing the commotion from outside the door. they entered without announcing their presence, standing just outside the dining room.

"he's been through so much, clay, i don't want him to get hurt." darryl said sharply.

"we're just friends. and we'll probably be nothing more." clay hissed, "yes, i like him, and i love him. but nothing more than a friend."

george was paralyzed, he couldn't move. he thought they could be something, he thought that their long kisses meant something to clay, but no.

"george, stay here please." nick whispered, and that was all it took for george to break down into tears, he put a hand over his mouth and rushed out of the door. hearing george's heavy footsteps, darryl and clay turned to see george's retreating figure, they watched as george exited the apartment.

"george wait!" clay yelled, running after him, he ran down the stairs and caught up to george.

"clay, just go back." george mumbled.

"no, please, i love you." clay pleaded.

"i thought i was special to you." george said, "i thought, you meant it when you said you loved me too. but i was wrong. i set myself up for heartbreak when i loved you." he said, furiously wiping his tears away.

"please, george. just please wait for me. i'll be ready soon." clay said, tears cascading down his freckle stained cheeks.

"i was ready to wait for you." george said, "but i was waiting for nothing, you don't even like me back clay. you're so unattainable and it fucking hurts me that i thought you loved me back."

"you're so unattainable, i thought i had a chance with you, you led me on." george laughed sadly, turning around and walking home, and clay couldn't do anything but watch and weep.

\--

2150 words - January 27, 2021


	15. 14 - you didn't come home

14 - you didn't come home ; epic iii | hadestown (cathedral version)

to my dream boy,

somewhere, someone's on their first date, having their first kiss, falling inlove. but elsewhere, someone's going through heartbreak, falling apart, and desperately picking up their shattered pieces from the ground.

you were my first in everything, my first love, and my first and last heartbreak. i never thought you'd break my heart, dream. but you did, and you didn't mean to, i know you didn't.

when your family and i escaped, you promised to follow. and i believed that. i feel very empty and useless, you were my everything, and i just lost you - i feel so inadequate. sometimes, i wonder if you ran away with someone else, if this was all a plot to replace me, but you aren't that cruel, some people may think you are, but i know for a fact that you aren't.

tubbo, wilbur and i started planting new stuff! we tend to the flowers and i've taught them how to utilize plants for magic and for their own benefit. wilbur is a great sorcerer now, even greater than when you last saw him! and tubbo, he's such a darling, dream. he plays the ocarina for me sometimes.

i love the flowers, they taught your siblings love, and patience - nurturing and loving something so much that it grows into something very beautiful and out of this world, something unique. i want to nurture them with you once more.

did you know that i run an orphanage now? well, i have been for 40 years, and i adore the children so much, dream. i've always wanted to adopt with you, but that didn't happen. sometimes, i can see you and your determination in their eyes.

i've waited, for a week, a month, a year. 60 years have passed, and you promised you'd follow us to our location when you're done with flavus, but i've grown old, and you still aren't here with me. phil and your siblings are aging beautifully, their aging is slowed down because of their powers after all. and me? i'm just an old man, but i miss you so much, and i just wish we aged together. living inside a small cottage together and all that.

i just hope you're happy, wherever you are. and don't ever forget that i love you so much. i would give all i have to be with you a moment more.

if somehow, we meet again in another life. i want to be in your arms, living a simple life without the roars of war right beside our ears.

i long for you to be here by my side, my dream boy.

your daisy,  
george

\--

"i'm going to go visit the place, i'll be right back." wilbur said, grabbing his pet sheep's leash, his guitar hanging loosely on his back.

"okay then, stay safe son." phil smiled, drinking his cup of coffee.

the curly haired boy started walking out of the tiny forest they resided in, towards the direction of their old nation, it had been almost 65 years after flavus invaded their kingdom, and from what he heard - the place was now a ghost town, people didn't want to visit the place, rumours going around that the ghosts of the citizens and the king would have your head if you entered the area, but wilbur knew they were nothing but stories.

friend stopped once they were at the entrance, and wilbur gently hummed a tune, calming the blue coloured sheep down and actually getting him to walk around the village. the houses were burned down, but there were remains of the old houses, wilbur could almost hear the cheerful chatter within the village. how he missed messing around with tommy and tubbo in here.

wilbur walked with friend inside the castle, the sight of dried blood and skeletons greeting him. he straightened his posture and walked into the throne room, wilbur couldn't help the tears in his eyes when he stood in the middle of the room. he and dream were close, well, dream was close with all of them but it was dream who taught wilbur how to play the guitar, it was dream who stared wilbur's bullies down till they left him alone.

friend sat beside wilbur, leaning his head on wilbur's lap. "i'm alright, friend." wilbur smiled, petting the sheep's head. he took off the guitar from his back and placed it on his lap, friend taking his head off momentarily.

"dream, if you can hear me. hi. it's wilbur." wilbur called out, "it's yours and george's 65th anniversary, and, i wrote this song for the both of you. since, you know, i was the one who sang at your wedding."

wilbur cleared his throat and placed his fingers on his guitar.

'heavy and hard, is the heart of the king.' wilbur gently sang, his fingers effortlessly playing the guitar. king of iron, king of steel.

'the heart of the king loves everything, like the hammer loves the nail.' friend stared at wilbur, his big eyes boring into wilbur's. and the boy smiled.

'but the heart of a man, is a simple one. small and soft, flesh and blood. and all that it loves is a small man, a small man is all that it loves.' wilbur closes his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing as passion hung off of his lips.

'and hades is king, of the scythe and the sword, he covers the world in the colour of rust.' he continued, remembering his brother in the process. wilbur missed dream so much, he missed his older brother so much.

'he scrapes the sky and scars the earth, and he comes down heavy and hard on us.' there was a lump in his throat, he was hyper-aware. yet he continued.

'but even that hardest of hearts unhardened suddenly when he saw him there.' wilbur opened his eyes and stared ahead. smiling a little at friend, who was about to fall asleep.

'persephone, in his mother's garden. the sun on her shoulders, the wind in her hair.' wilbur was alone, he knew that for a fact, but he can hear voices harmonizing with him, he wasn't bothered, rather, he felt a sense of yearning. he really missed the townsfolk.

'the smell of the flowers she held in her hand, and the pollen that fell from her fingertips. and suddenly hades was only a man, with a taste of nectar upon his lips.' wilbur can still recall the night dream talked to him about the pretty boy he met, and his brother was reduced to a lovesick boy, no longer was he the stoic king everybody knew.

'he's the one, i can feel it.' dream smiled, looking up at the night sky. 'i've never felt this way before.'

'la la la la la la la' wilbur started humming, his eyes travelling around the throne room as the golden statues glowed in the sunlight. he felt like he wasn't alone.

'la la la la la la la' people harmonized with him, and he finished. he hoped his brother was at peace, he hoped this song was enough to make him rest.

wilbur looked at friend, who has awoken and stood up frantically, tugging on his leash.

"what's wrong, friend?" wilbur asked the creature. and wilbur just knew they had to go home.

wilbur slung the guitar over his shoulder and ran with friend, he ran and ran until he reached the forest and into the orphanage he went, where the children were crying, and silent tears went down his siblings and phil's face.

"what's happened?" wilbur asked.

"it's george." phil mumbled, "he's going soon."

the curly haired boy rushed to the bed surrounded by the kids, all crying as they stared at george's old and weak form. he rushed beside george, kneeling. george smiled and placed his hand over wilbur's.

"thank you. for giving me the best life." george said, his voice raspy. and wilbur smiled, ignoring the tears trailing down his face.

"of course, dad, my siblings, and these children, are happy to have you." wilbur responded.

and with that, george smiled, finally closing his eyes.

\--

george opened his eyes, he was young again. infront of him was a man, with his back turned from him.

the man, sensing george's presence, turned around to face him.

"george?"

"dream." george muttered, he approached the king and placed a hand on his cheek. giving him a kiss.

"we don't have much time." dream said, "but, i just wanted to say thank you, and i love you. and i'll continue loving you till our next life."

"i love you too."

\--

1447 words - January 28, 2021


	16. 15 - dear george

15 - dear george, ; i knew you once | dodie

after george's funeral, phil cleaned out the house and spearheaded the orphanage along with wilbur. techno has retired, choosing a violence-free life, tommy and tubbo are just living their best lives, and wilbur has healed people with his songs. phil didn't really expect to find anything, but he was a little surprised to see dream's handwriting on a piece of homemade paper. a letter for george. phil assumed dream wrote this when they ran out. what his son did was stupid, but it worked, the people from flavus didn't actively search for them.

phil missed dream, he really did. and so, to heal his heart even for a little bit, he opened the letter.

-

dear george,

if you read this, chances of me being dead is higher than of me being alive. none of this is your fault, george. i did it so they'd leave you alone, they'll never come after you again, now that impius is gone and now that i'm gone.

the concept of soulmates is peculiar, to say the least, but i like it nonetheless, for it's about a connection so strong that it binds two people for eternity. was it magic? science? fate? i'm not so sure myself.

i was looking everywhere else when you caught my eye, you looked breathtaking in your sweater. i was stuck in my reverie and the dead butterflies in my stomach revived themselves upon the news of your existence. they then visited the budding flowers that have embedded their roots in my lungs, and my heart? my heart had it bad, it craved for your embrace, and it thrashed around when you approached me. i wanted to talk to you but my throat was dry and my tongue was rendered useless.

on our fourth date, you gave me a jar of burnt moondust and a deck of tarot cards. i was so ecstatic and rambled on and on about astrology and energies, you smiled and listened, telling me facts you know yourself occasionally, you were smart and that also made me fall deeper and deeper for you. I took a breath, blew the moondust and made a wish.

"what did you wish for, dream?"  
"i wished that we'll stay together forever."

you've coaxed my heart out of my chest with nasally and breathy whimpers of sweetheart and darling. you made me melt at the soft tones as you whisper my name, it easily rolled off of your tongue and i was hypnotized by your voice.

i don't believe at love at first sight, but when i saw you, that was thrown out of the window. i felt connected to you, like you were my compliment - my missing piece, if you will. and whenever we were together, i felt complete.

attraction turned into love real quick, and i was fascinated with every little thing you'd do; i loved your handwriting, and your voice and your hands. when you'd play the guitar, i was mesmerized, hypnotized.

you have a beautiful soul; a soul so beautiful and lovely poets would love to write about it, they would compose hymns about it and only the best singers would sing it. you were unique and rare, one of a kind, and i was happy because i got to call you mine, and i was yours. you were you and that was more than enough, it's really easy to write about you, it was natural - like breathing.

i have nothing left without you here with me. all i have are wilted flowers, burnt espressos, unused dress shirts, a broken deck of tarot cards and acid soaked stars. you were the sun and i was the moon, we were both beautiful celestial bodies who watched the first dandelion bloom on our garden, but i suppose the eclipse is already over and we have to distance ourselves from each other for safety.

to be honest, i didn't know i'd be this happy. if i go back in time and tell my young self that everything will get better even for a few years, he won't believe it.

i've lived a short life, but i guess i'm happy with that.

yours,  
dream

-

techno sat outside the small cottage, the breeze gently messing with his pink locks as he stares up ahead.

"penny for your thoughts, technoblade?" tommy smiled, sitting beside his older brother. "seriously though, are you alright?"

"yeah. just thinking." techno answered.

"about what?" tommy asked, moving a little closer.

"dream, everything i guess." techno responded, tearing a piece of grass apart and throwing it down on the ground. "i knew what he asked of me was stupid, and what he planned was stupid. but i didn't say anything, because i was also mad at impius. george made dream so happy, tommy. i don't like the idea of him being soiled like that."

"well, in my opinion. that was pretty stupid." tommy started, "but, you're a person, dream's a person, and impius fucked up by poking the dream bear with a metaphorical stick. you both acted out of anger, but your intentions were good. impius was cruel."

"i just, i don't know." techno sighed, "whenever dream is blinded by anger or any other emotion, i should be rational, same goes with me. whenever i was impulsive, dream made me realize how stupid i was. but we were both blind."

"techno, for what it's worth, i think you're a good sibling. you were being a good brother to dream, and, believe it or not, i think he went to his eternal sleep in peace." tommy reassured techno, "i know you think dream and george should've spent years together and grew old together, but, fate finds a way. maybe, they'll get a better ending in another life."

"thanks, i think you're a decent trash gremlin too." techno joked.

"hey! i was trying to be nice." tommy smacked techno's shoulder lightly.

"i know." techno smiled.

"tommy! techno! wilbur tried to eat a bee!" tubbo rushed to them, with wilbur following behind.

"wilbur, what's wrong with you man?" tommy asked, laughing in between his words.

"i wanted to hear the bee scream as it was crushed between my teeth, but tubbo stopped me." wilbur explained, he was monotonous but you can see him suppressing a smile.

techno watched his younger siblings joke around and argue, a small smile resting upon his face. they were happy, and he hopes dream and george are too.

\--

1080 words - January 29, 2021


	17. 16 - muffinhead

16 - muffinhead ; hello my old heart | the oh hello's

clay stared at george's figure as he walked away, and with no choice, he headed back to darryl's place. the blond couldn't help the sob which escaped his lips, arms wrapping around himself as he walked slowly to the apartment complex, taking the stairs instead of the elevator to clear his head.

once he entered darryl's place, it was nick who saw him first. nick first saw clay's red, puffy eyes and trembling form.

"oh, clay." nick murmured, enveloping his best friend in a hug, clay was too tired to return the gesture, so he just leaned his tall frame into nick's. entering the dining room, was when they saw darryl with his head in his hands. "bad, he's here."

"did you apologize to george?" darryl asked sharply, looking at clay, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"i tried, but he doesn't want to listen." clay reasoned, darryl sighed, his eyes closed and raised a hand to shut the younger up.

"no shit he doesn't want to listen! you played him like a fool clay! if you aren't ready for commitment, please, not george, he's been through so much-" darryl ranted, standing up.

"bad! cut clay some slack!" nick interrupted, walking infront of clay to block him from darryl.

"no! you don't fucking understand. you weren't the one who saw george after the accident, who saw how broken he became. i love all of you equally but you don't get to destroy george after months of building him up." darryl yelled, tears falling down from his eyes, "george has been there for me through thick and thin, and i wanted to return the favour. he doesn't deserve the pain you're giving him."

"darryl, calm down." nick gently said, making clay sit down on the chair infront of darryl, "i know clay caused a lot of damage, but he didn't mean it."

darryl looked up at clay, his eyes also red and puffy as the latter's, and sat back down. his posture wasn't straight as he slumped down on the brown and gold coloured chair. "i'm sorry." darryl said quietly, "i shouldn't have pressured you. i was wrong. and, i'm sorry for blowing up."

"no, i should be the one apologizing." clay replied, his tone frantic, "you were right, by not talking to george i was hurting him. and i was hurting myself. but bad, i'm just so scared of how people will react." clay continued, his voice was weak and silent. his hands were still trembling, clay fidgeted, hoping they won't notice the nervousness coursing through his veins.

"clay, your feelings are valid, and your fears are valid." darryl looked up at clay, who was much taller than him even though he was seated on the chair in front of him, "closing yourself off in fear of getting hurt is no way to live, numbing the greatest pain in the world also means numbing the greatest joy. we're here for you, clay. and i know your dad will be fine with whoever you are and whoever you're with."

clay couldn't hold his tears at darryl's little speech, breaking down infront of his best friends. nick laid a hand on clay's shoulder and drew circles with his thumb, "we love you clay, and you are free to love whoever you want to love."

they silently comforted clay as he cried all of the tears in his eyes, his breathing was uneven and his chest heaved as he desperately tried to claw his heart out of his chest. "i fucked up, i fucked up so bad. he won't forgive me." clay muttered over and over again.

"no, clay. just give him time, give yourself time and figure yourself out. explain your reasons and he'll accept it." darryl said, "george loves you, clay. he loves you so much." darryl smiled softly at the blond.

"everything will be alright." nick comforted. clay smiled, albeit small, but he smiled. darryl and nick thought that making him smile was a vast improvement from his previous mood.

\--

george slammed the door of his apartment, and slid down on the door, his bottom lip trembling as he let out a frustrated yell.

george felt like he was trapped in ruins, bound in a destroyed cell, but contrary to his belief - it wasn't his body nor his soul. he kept reasoning, overthinking, trying desperately to find his willpower to leave and let go for he knew he was breaking - one small move, or a sudden weight shift, then he'd shatter into a million pieces invisible to the naked eye.

he felt trapped in an illusion of shadows and familiar murmurs of sweet nothings, lullabies and unmistakable silhouettes - they're all held together by the thought of an unreachable happy ending, ruining the image of potential into fear that george will fall apart and doubt whether clay's love for him, or whatever it was, was true.

george was shackled down to expectations, loneliness and fear about what the future holds. a future without clay, even as a friend, and a world without love. he doesn't know what the world has in store for him because clay was too afraid to venture out, and what's bad was the blond was his crutch - an essential - for his legs have been broken by the weight of his guilt and sorrow. george's hands are itching to create yet he has nothing but tear stained flowers, and he can't help but run his fingers upon its soft, withering petals, life summoned and revived, influenced and intoxicated by the tears shed by his tired and empty eyes.

he sat there on the floor, knees close to his chest, eyelids feeling very heavy. george doesn't feel sad anymore, well, he still does but it was dulled down. all he wanted to do was sleep, he was very tired. and that's what he does. george fell asleep leaning against his door, with tear stains evident on his cheeks. and for the first time, he slept without dreaming of the accident, or about his past life. only nothingness embraced him.

\--

1018 words - February 1, 2021


	18. 17 - melatonin pills

17 - melatonin pills ; dreamland | glass animals

clay entered his place and gave patches a small smile as she approached him, meowing when clay scratched the top of her head.

"sweet girl, i'll go take a nap, alright?" clay mumbled, patches meowing in response. he walked up to his bedroom and changed into a white shirt and shorts, more comfortable clothes. entering his bathroom, he opened the mirror cabinet, grabbing the bottle of melatonin pills. they were the type you'd leave in your mouth to melt and tasted like mint, he supposed taking those pills were comforting. clay was tired, and he wanted to sleep for a very long time.

that was the first time clay looked into the mirror in weeks, the colour has left his green eyes. he wished to empty the melatonin bottle, to feel the contents slide past his lips and down his throat, but that wasn't wise. he just wanted to feel hollow, for the flowers within his lungs stung his insides with fire ants, invading the place and consuming the leftover sweets in his system.

he took three pills out of the bottle and placed in underneath his tongue, the pills melting quick. clay walked slowly to his bed and flopped, he made himself more comfortable and beckons for patches to sleep with him, the cat, obliged; spinning and making the mattress soft with her paws before laying down at the foot of his bed.

clay sighed, and closed his eyes. the pills taking effect.

\--

clay opened his eyes to see that he was laying down on cold tiles, his back pressed flat against the grandiose floors. a metallic smell invaded his lungs, it was blood, yet clay didn't want to accept that yet.

sitting up, he stared at his surroundings. he was in a bedroom, a master's bedroom. there was a king sized bed in the middle of the room and a balcony on the right, on the left, was a bedside table with drawers, a decent sized painting, picture? on top.

the picture was of him, but young, with his dad, and his siblings. but they were wearing such fancy outfits, where was he? his hands reached out to hold the framed piece of paper, making him jolt back at what he saw and heard.

"stay still boys." phil gently said, and his boys followed.

"you have such wonderful sons, sir." the painter said, and dream looked up at phil with sad eyes. expecting the correction that the little prince wasn't his son.

"indeed they are wonderful, in their own ways, but wonderful nonetheless." phil smiled, ruffling dream's blond locks.

clay stared at the picture, before placing it back on the bedside table.

"what was that?" he murmured, walking around the room. clay took notice of the phonograph in the other corner of the room, he assumed that this room was his.

touching the phonograph, he felt like he was in a trance, drunk off of the familiar feeling of warmth and love, and so clay looked up - seeing himself dancing with george in his arms. they were happy, and george looked so happy too. was that him?

he opened the door, and walked down the hall. hands flying up to his face upon the sight of maids who have either been killed or killed themselves by drinking poison. he stepped into one of the rooms, a library perhaps, and looked out the window. there was a village, but it was burned down to the ground, and the people residing there were also no more.

walking down the stairs, he entered the dining area. clay was greeted by a long table, and on the wall right above the valued glassware, was a very big painting. it was of him and george.

george was wearing a white ruffled shirt, his hair was curly and he had a small yet genuine smile. you could see how happy he was from the rosy tint of his cheeks alone. he had his hand resting on dream's, clay's? he doesn't know, but the hand was resting on their shoulder, and on his finger was a wedding ring.

"dream, wilbur did say you have something to tell us." philza said, silently urging dream to finally open up.

"i want you guys to meet someone special, i've been talking to him for a year now." dream said, his voice not holding much confidence in fear of his family disagreeing, "i'll bring him over for dinner tomorrow if you're okay with it?"

philza smiled widely, he was very happy for his son. because, of course he wanted for his other oldest to find someone to spend the rest of his life with.

"we'd be very glad for you to bring him over!" phil beamed.

clay had to steady his breathing for a minute, what the heck was happening, where was he? what is this weird alternate reality thing he has traveled to?

finally, clay entered the throne room where he saw...himself. he was wearing the same fancy attire in the pictures, but he was on the floor, a cracked white mask behind him and his head a few feet away from his body. he gasped, walking a few steps back, that was him, that was his corpse.

"how peculiar." the head spoke, rolling over to face clay. dream's eyes were empty, white, and as the head rolled on the ground, liquid gold spilled out of his neck. "you have what i want, what i've yearned for, yet you don't claim it."

"what is this? who are you?" clay asked, staring in fear as dream's body stood up, and bending over to pick up his decapitated head.

"this was your past life. and i am you, but people call me dream." dream lightly explained, placing his head on his neck, liquid gold further spilling down his torso and clothes, but once his head was connected to his body, his irises rolled from the back of his head up to the front.

"i don't understand." clay trailed off, "what happened to me? or, to us?"

"we died. we did it to protect george." dream deadpanned, "it is ridiculous to see you waste the work i've done prior."

"what do you mean?" clay asked. dream smiled, and their surroundings, from the throne room it turned into a black void.

"what are you so afraid of, clay?" dream asked, "is it their opinion?"

"no, i'm afraid of what phil might think, what my siblings might think, if phil doesn't accept me then what now? i wouldn't be able to patch things up with george. everything would be too awkward and we'll inevitably drift away from each other." clay ranted, and dream's stern expression softened upon hearing what clay was thinking.

"they'll be alright with it. phil loves us, and our siblings love us. and as for george? even if you're not yet ready to commit, all he asks for is answers, clarification. george loves you, and he'll never drop you." dream said, his voice was ethereal, smooth like honey yet it holds so much power within it.

"i'm ready, it's just that...what if i'm not good enough?" clay responded, weak and vulnerable. dream smiled, walking closer to clay, they looked so similar yet so different all at the same time.

"for what it's worth, i think you'll do great, i think you'll do better than me. i did some pretty stupid things, and that costed me my life. all i wanted was to spend my years with george, and you can actually do that." dream walked closer to clay, "you're worth more than you think you do."

and with that, dream and clay became one being. their forms melding into one, clay could feel the liquid gold seeping into his nose, into his hears and mouth, filling up his lungs, but it doesn't hurt, it just feels warm. and with each passing second that dream and clay were uniting, memories filled clay's head.

when he met george, both in the past and in the present, the picnic dates, the kisses they shared. their wedding day, how he wanted to have a day like that with george. memories of the past played itself in clay's head, it makes sense now - they were meant for each other, but even when he saw what they had -- clay wanted to make new memories with george.

he opened his eyes, clay could feel his feet planted on the grass beneath him, and infront of him was a pond, with delilah sitting cross-legged infront of it.

"clay, you're here. come, take a sit beside me." delilah smiled, patting the spot beside her. and clay complied, sitting right beside the woman.

"there was one thing i couldn't remember," clay broke the silence, staring off into the distant. "what was the favour i asked of you?"

delilah laughed lightly at that, "oh, what a silly thing to ask. well, you asked me to give you and george a push."

"a push?" clay asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"yeah, you knew back then that if you were to encounter george in a new life, you'd be too nervous to make a move. you asked me to give you a little push." delilah explained, "or, you asked me to play with fate and do something to make you two meet. which wasn't hard, i didn't have to do that, you and george are true soulmates. you'll end up finding each other no matter what happens."

"will he accept me?" clay asked.

"i don't know which one you're talking about, phil will of course accept you, and george will gladly take you with him, so i guess my answer would be yes." delilah smiled, "everything will fall into place, clay. you're meant to be."

"but, what if i chicken out again?" clay mumbled nervously, and delilah ran her fingers through the water, the pond's surface now resembling a mirror's. she showed clay a cafe, with george gently laughing with a girl. flora.

"maybe, if you wait a little more after you're ready, then you'd be too late." delilah said.

clay stared at the scenario infront of him, and looked at delilah, she smiled at clay and stood up, "it was nice talking to you, clay. but i have to go."

and with that, clay woke up with a gasp, he sat up and breathed heavily. patches also waking up, she walked and sat on clay's right hand, meowing loudly while staring at him.

"i'm okay, patches." clay smiled, "i'm okay."

\--

1758 words - February 1, 2021


	19. 18 - my son

18 - my son ; two | sleeping at last

it was thanksgiving, and clay wasn't really planning to do much. his family was in london, and he was used to spending it alone. clay wanted to leave the nest and grow, george followed. they first met in their childhood neighborhood, george was living with his parents and clay was just adopted by phil, the two boys grew up together, meeting nick and darryl through the internet, and then they left london together.

clay vividly remembers, that when george and his parents were involved in that nasty accident, his parents visited george and had a vacation in their area. clay remembers this because of the banana bread they baked for him when they arrived.

the blond broke out of his trance, and stopped staring at his ceiling when his phone rang, he didn't look at who was calling and answered.

"hello?" clay greeted, his voice rough and tired.

"woah, you sound like shit big man." tommy's voice rang through the phone.

"good morning to you too tomathy, why'd you call?" clay teased.

"am i not allowed to call my favourite older brother on the phone now?" tommy loudly responded, trying his best to sound offended, but he wasn't. "i just called to tell you that you should really open your door."

"why? did you send over some food?" clay stood up from his bed, walking downstairs.

"even better." tommy said, but what's weird was tommy's voice sounds like it's from the other side of the door. furrowing his brows, clay opened the door to see tommy, phil, and his other siblings.

"surprise!" they yelled, and clay smiled widely.

"what? i thought you'd spend your thanksgiving at home?" clay asked.

"and leave you here alone? not a chance." phil smiled, clay gave everyone a hug and made them enter his place. patches immediately walking over to tubbo.

"patches really does like me more than you, tommy." tubbo smiled, sitting down to pet the cat.

"no fair." tommy pouted.

"it's only fair, if i was the cat, i'd also be scared of you, you're such a gremlin child." wilbur chimed in.

"well then wilbur, any askers? i'm looking for the askers." tommy rebutted.

"i'm an asker. i asked." techno deadpanned, and wilbur laughed, tubbo and clay joining in.

"now now, quit picking on tommy and help me prepare dinner." phil said, "clay, your fridge is empty. what do you even eat, son?"

"uh, ramen?" clay responded, more of asking himself rather than answering, "george usually bakes stuff and gives me some."

tommy and wilbur awe'd like middle school girls upon hearing that, with tubbo remarking how sweet (pun intended) that was, and techno gently agreeing with his little brother.

"well then, why don't you guys go out and get groceries?" phil smiled, "i'm sure you guys would love to explore the city. i'll just stay here and clean up."

"yeah sure, clay and i will leash these three." techno said, with wilbur protesting that clay should also be leashed.

"actually, phil, can i talk to you about something?" clay asked nervously.

phil looked at clay, he looked very afraid, making himself seem smaller than normal. he then looked at his four other sons.

"it's fine, phil! we'll behave, we'll be back with the groceries shortly." wilbur smiled, his three other siblings agreeing.

"of course, son. we can talk." phil said softly, afraid that if he spoke any louder that clay would deteriorate. "and you four, i don't want to get a call that tommy jumped off a bridge or that tommy is stuck in a tree alright?"

"why is it always me?" tommy asked, his voice was high pitched and a little offended.

"last week, wilbur called me on the phone frantically when i fell asleep because you got stuck in the cupboards." techno responded, "i took a nap for thirty minutes tommy, how the hell did you get up there?"

"okay okay you've proven your point." tommy shushed techno.

"wait, what? tommy you got stuck in a cupboard?" clay wheezed.

"yeah! phil went out to do some shit and left techno in charge. he fell asleep and tommy somehow got stuck!" tubbo explained, laughing at his twin.

"no nO- we're going out to get groceries! be back soon! bye!" tommy said frantically as they all laughed. the four siblings exited out of the house after receiving phil's credit card, leaving only clay and his adoptive father in the house.

"come, sit with me." phil said, "what's going on through your head, clay?"

"nothing much, really. i just needed to tell you something." clay mumbled, "i'm just a little scared, i guess. i don't want you to be upset with me."

"of course i'd never be upset with you!" phil reassured, "even if you're far away from us now, and even if we rarely see each other, you're still my son and i love you, no matter what you've done and no matter who you are."

and from that, clay broke down into tears, he cried and cried, leaning down onto the table. phil rushed and stood up, walking over to clay's side and kneeling down. "oh, clay. what's the matter?"

"dad." clay sniffled, breathing deeply and composing himself. "i like guys."

phil stopped at that, staring at clay. and for clay, phil has been silent for too long, and so he started crying harder.

"no, no, honey." phil frantically said, hugging clay. "i accept you, and thank you so much for telling me. you're very brave for telling me."

"you do?" clay asked, his voice small.

"of course i do!" phil smiled, "no matter your preferences, you're still my son and i love you no matter what."

"so...i'm gay." clay murmured, admitting it more to himself than phil, "and i love george."

"you do?" phil asked.

"yeah...but i messed up, dad. and now he's upset with me." clay responded. be explained the situation to his dad, and phil listened intently.

"well, son. communication is key. you have to tell george how you really feel, to set yourself free, and to set him free as well." phil gently said, "you two are unique, i've never seen two people love each other so much since they were kids. you're gonna do great together."

clay smiled, "thanks dad. i love you."

"i love you too, son." he hugged clay, and clay returned the gesture, they broke apart and their conversation dissolved into small talk after some time, interrupted by the sound of phil's phone ringing.

"tubbo?" phil answered.

"uh, i'm just calling to say that we'll get home a little later than we planned." tubbo said sheepishly.

"why? what happened?" phil asked.

"well, you see, tommy fell down a lake because he was trying to feed the ducks. techno pushed him too hard. wilbur is getting tommy out though!" tubbo tried to reassure their dad, but phil just sighed.

"alright, get home safely boys." phil said, and tubbo gave an enthusiastic goodbye as he hung up the phone.

"what happened?" clay asked.

"tommy fell down a lake." the older man said, and clay laughed. phil smiled, just happy that his son was happy. "well, i did tell them i didn't want him stuck in a tree."

\--

1211 words - February 1, 2021


	20. 19 - sol's cafe

19 - sol's cafe ; backwards | forrest

» «

when george woke up the next morning, his limbs were sore, sleeping against the door in a fetal position wasn't the best decision he's made, and now his neck hurts after sleeping in a weird position. he stood up, with difficulty, and stretched out, letting out a yawn. george cracked his neck and his knuckles, walking to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

deciding that a small change in scenery was good for him, he changed out of yesterday's clothes, and put on an oversized hoodie and jeans instead. george, with that decision of visiting other sceneries, decided to visit the cafe down the street.

it was early in the morning, and not many people were awake yet, so he wasn't surprised when the cafe was empty, except for the employees there. george had always wanted to try out the food there, but there were so many people whenever he passed by, and he didn't like a huge crowd of people.

"hi! welcome to sol's cafe! how may i be of service?" the cashier asked, she had neon green hair with a pink highlight, novelty earrings also hung off of her ears (rubber duckies, george observed), and her eyebrows were slit. george read her nametag, delphinium.

"hi delphinium, i'd like to have a croissant and a strawberry milkshake please." george smiled.

"oh please, delphi is fine!" delphi beamed, she inputted george's order and told him the price. he then paid for his breakfast, thanked delphi and slid down on a corner booth.

the cafe was cozy, filled with house plants, frog and mushrooms decor with golden accents, it smelled of cinnamon and apples, your city gave me asthma also played on the speakers, and george recognized that to be clay's little brother's album. it was peaceful when it was just him around.

"may i sit with you?" a gentle, yet firm voice asked. george looked up from his phone and saw a girl with curly, chestnut chair and forest green eyes wearing the simple white button up and brown khakis the employees wore, but she had an aura of professionalism surrounding her. george squinted his eyes, wondering why he feels like he has known her before, then it clicked, flora.

"sure." george smiled, flora smiling back at him and sitting infront of him.

"this is weird, but i feel like i've known you before." flora starts, "george, is it?"

"yeah, and you're flora." george muttered.

"knew it," flora smiled, "how's life treating you?"

"it's good, could be better." george replied, "a little problem with love i guess, but the croissant did cheer me up! was that your recipe?"

"no, not really. it's delphi's, she and her girlfriend mostly bake here." flora smiled, george didn't like to stereotype, but the novelty earrings did give away delphi's queerness. "but, enough stalling, can i ask you something?"

"sure, what is it?" george replied.

"so you've had them?" flora asked, and george tilted his head in confusion, silently asking the girl to elaborate. "the dreams."

"yes. have you?" george asked, and flora hummed in agreement.

"look, i'm sorry for the shit i've done back then." flora apologized, and george looked into her eyes to see nothing but sincerity. "i was...driven by their actions."

"no, it's fine." george smiled, "it's all in the past. but if you don't mind me asking, what caused the dreams?"

"it's not fine, just because i went through pain doesn't mean i get to inflict it on others." flora looked down, "and, uh, near-death experiences causes them."

"near-death experiences? why though?" george pondered.

"it's the universe's way of keeping us going, to give us a will to live i guess." flora shrugged, "i've had them after i almost took my own life."

"i'm sorry." george mumbled.

"no, it's alright." flora smiled, "i was stupid, i did it because my father overdosed."

"is he the same dad you've had before?" george asked, and flora nodded.

"he's not a bad man though, not in this one at least. he made me finish school and thoroughly supported me and my spouse, he just doesn't know how to ask for help. and when we thought he was fine, turns out he was spiralling more and more into a dark hole." flora explained, "it was sunny that found me, if she hadn't, i would've died."

"how are you and sunny by the way?" george asked, taking a sip out of his strawberry milkshake. and flora smiled widely, showing george the wedding ring on her finger.

"we've been married for 3 years!" flora beamed, "we own this cafe, actually."

"but i don't understand, in the past you both didn't have a happy ending, how come you have it in this one?" george asked flora, his eyes filled with sadness, "i'm happy for you guys, i really am. but, how come clay and i don't get that."

flora sighed, and moved forward closer to george. "george, just because you didn't have a happy ending in the past, doesn't mean you won't have it in this one. your story isn't written by a god, your fate is in your hands, and you can give yourself that happy ending you want."

"but what about the dreams?" george desperately asked.

"the dreams are just there to show you that your love runs deeper than how you thought it was. with communication, and help from each other, you can make yourselves better." flora gently explained, "you can change your ending, george."

george smiled at that, thanking flora. but they were interrupted by flora's ringing phone, she answered it and brought the phone to her ears, but george can hear the person on the other end of the call.

"flower! hi! so i know you said i shouldn't impulse buy and all that, but i was in the thrift shop and i found these adorable frog and mushroom mugs! they're so adorable! i bought them, so you can have the frog and i'll have the mushroom!" sunny beamed through the phone.

"but, isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" flora asked.

"well yeah, i'm obsessed with frogs, but i want you to have to frog so you can remember me with it! same with the mushroom mug!" sunny explained.

"okay love, get home safe." flora smiled, "i love you."

"i love you too! bye!" and she hung up.

flora looked over at george, and smiled. "all will be alright in time, george. and when everything's good, you can come bring your friends over."

"thank you, flora. i really appreciated the comfort." george said, sincere and true.

"of course, it's the least that i can do." she replied.

george smiled and stood up, pulling his phone out of his pocket once he felt it buzz. it was clay.

hi george, can we talk?

\--

1140 words - February 2, 2021


	21. 20 - i love you

20 - i love you ; hugging you | tom rosenthal

sure, when and where? george replied, sending the text and watching the text bubble appear and disappear in clay's side of the conversation. to say that george was nervous was an understatement, i mean, he didn't know what clay wanted to talk about - would they stop being friends? do they need space? did clay have a terminal illness and only had a month to live but george ruined it by falling in love with his seemingly straight best friend? the possibilities are endless. even if he were to make a tree diagram to count the possible outcomes from this pending situation, the diagram would be too big for any paper to contain.

george shut off his phone and placed in on the table infront of him, he was in his apartment again, seated on his couch. it was night now, only replying to clay after a few hours, he needed time to think - to rationalize. but that did more bad than good, the overthinking was too much for him and he impulsively replied to clay almost nine hours after he messaged george. how embarrassing was that? george would surely never live it down.

when he was young, george messed up alot. he was a clumsy child, but his parents loved him nonetheless, meanwhile - his grandparents nitpicked at his flaws, him coming out as gay amplified the underlying hate. but yes, george was clumsy, that was common knowledge, but he didn't care, he only cared about it now - when it was about clay, he felt like he was walking on eggshells, but he would be lying if he said that he would be upset if said eggshells broke if he shifted his weight to his tippy toes to press a kiss on the tip of clay's nose.

not now, george! he thought, gay thoughts later, focus about what's important now.

his phone buzzed, lighting up when clay replied, and it was embarrassing to see how fast george dove into the table to grab the blinky box from the table. george quickly unlocked his phone and stared at their conversation.

we can walk in the park, if you'd like?

george's fingers were quick, he typed out a response, but didn't send it yet. he waited three minutes before replying, he didn't want to seem eager and clingy, but he did want to get it over with. if clay was going to politely reject him in the park with the stars and the moon as their witnesses, then so be it. george just wanted to rip it out fast, like a bandaid, so then he'll go home and go to sleep to get rid of the pain. maybe he'll call darryl and ask him to come over with strawberry flavoured ice cream, who knows. one thing's for sure - how george uses sleep as a way to cope with issues and all the terrible things happening to him.

sure, let's meet at the bench. george finally send the message after waiting five whole minutes. he stood up and walked up to his wardrobe, opting to wear a pastel blue oversized sweater, white pants and a pair of yellow converse shoes. leaving his hair to its fluffy state, because god knows that if he tried to comb it - george will end up looking like a cheap, watercolour paintbrush a five year old child pressed down the paper tip down. oddly specific, but you know what i mean.

to buy more time, george walked slowly to the park. appreciating the blurry streetlights and the hues of the night sky, he can't see it -- but in his own little way, the blues look so enticing. the gravel beneath his shoes made unmistakable sounds as he walked to the bench - which, clay wasn't there yet, so george sat on the bench by himself, looking up at the stars. they were so beautiful tonight.

"what'cha thinking about?" george heard someone say behind him, he turned around to see clay, wearing a lime green hoodie and jeans. the shoe game was weak, but george didn't mind.

"not much, the stars just look so pretty." george responded, clay smiled, walking to the bench and sitting beside him. the blond relaxed and leaned back, in contrast to how tense george was, sitting upright and straight.

"they do." clay said, they fell into a comfortable silence after that. not until clay broke it. "i'm sorry."

"sorry? for what?" george asked gently, "i understand if you don't like me back, it was unfair of me to react harshly when you obviously don't reciprocate my feelings for you."

"no, i like you, george." clay cut him off, "like, like like you."

"oh." george trailed off. he looked down at his hands and started fiddling with his fingers, finally - he laid back and stared back at the stars above them. there were fireflies around them, t'was a lovely night.

"yeah. and, i'm sorry for not telling you." clay continued, "i was...afraid."

"afraid of what?" george asked, his tone wasn't sharp, rather, he really wanted to know what drove clay away - was he tough to love? was george too much? what was it? but the answer he received was something very common, yet something he did not expect.

"what people will say when i come out." clay said, sighing and allowing the tension to leave his shoulders. "phil and my siblings are the only family i have left, and i didn't want to lose them. and, the thought of if i came out and everything went wrong and then i already ruined shit between us, it's terrifying."

"but, phil is chill about these things." george reasoned, "he was very supportive when techno came out as aroace a few years back."

"well yeah, but, even if you've rationalized something - overthinking takes over, and then you'll start to doubt if that 'rational' thought was even rational in the first place." clay explained, laughing pitifully before continuing. "heck, i didn't even know you'd agree to talk to me."

"of course i did." george said, turning to the side to face clay. "even if i was upset with you, i would've come to talk to you after giving you a little space."

george looked down at his hands, they were so close to clay's, yet he was afraid to move closer, he did anyway. intertwining his pinky with clay's - and surprisingly, clay reciprocated, wrapping his pinky finger against george's.

"to be honest, i was hurt...after the thanksgiving thing." george muttered, "as stupid as it sounds, i felt like what we had didn't matter to you, like i wasn't special."

"you are special, george!" clay frantically cut the older off, "even if we weren't soulmates, even if you weren't written off in some far off past life, you still would've caught my eye."

"so you've had them?" george asked, before clarifying. "the dreams?"

"i had one." clay murmured, "but to be honest, even if i didn't have it, i still would've talked to you. i mean, i love you, george."

"what else were you afraid of?" george asked, he felt as if clay wasn't telling him the whole story, and it would be fine if clay said that he was not comfortable with sharing - george would respect that.

"i fell in love with you." clay responded shortly, "i was scared because of that, too."

taking a deep breath, he continued. "you're my best friend, george. and falling in love with your best friend is very scary, because what if your friendship is permanently ruined right after the relationship?"

"clay, you know i still would try to fix the friendship." george said sternly, "we grew up together for christ's sake."

"still, i was anxious." clay replied.

"so, what are we?" george asked, getting straight to the point. he was relieved that clay liked him back, he wasn't expecting that outcome but still - george was happy nonetheless, he was happy that he got real answers and didn't have to overthint anymore, and he'd gladly wait for clay - until he was ready. or, they could stay friends until they figure stuff out.

"whatever you want us to be." clay said, and he continued with a small smile on his face, "we could try being boyfriends, if you'd like?"

"if you want to." george stared at clay's eyes, drunk off of the love radiating from both of them, "but, clay, i don't want you to rush yourself - if you aren't ready to be boyfriends yet, then i understand. i can wait."

"well, somebody told be that living without risk means numbing the greatest joys of life." clay murmured, "and i'm not afraid anymore, george."

the gap between their lips were small, yet it seems so far. clay stared at george with half-lidded eyes, and george could smell clay's minty breath, he was also hyper-aware of the strawberry chapstick coating his own lips.

they weren't afraid anymore, and now, underneath the deep, blue sky, with the stars and the moon as their witnesses - they kissed, only this time, clay stayed with george to savour the moment, and to savour the taste of george's lips.

\--

1529 words - February 3, 2021


	22. 21 - epilogue

21 - epilogue ; morning coffee | chevy & nalba

"since george and clay have grown together - finding the knowledge about their love for one another, and because they have agreed in their desire to go forward in life together, seeking to make their relationship even richer and deep, and because they have pledged to meet sorrow and joy as two people conquering life together, we rejoice to recognize them as husbands and partners in life. gentlemen, you may now seal your union with a kiss."

clay leaned in and gave george a short peck on the lips, with george pulling him in even further and smiling into the kiss. when they pulled away from each other, they stared deep into each other's eyes - clay noted how george's eyes looked like melted chocolates, but to george, his eyes looked just like pee. and it seems like his husband was thinking of the same thing as he chuckled and whispered a small pissbaby against his lips.

"i now present to you, the newly married clay and george."

the couple turned to their guests, as they clapped and cheered for the two men infront of them. they truly belonged together, after nine long years of being together - clay proposed to george, well, after clay brought out the ring box, george let out a laugh and reached into his coat, pulling out a ring box. double proposal.

-

"will you marry me?" clay asked, still laughing with george as the brit held onto his knees with the ring box on his right hand.

"i don't know, how 'bout you?" george joked, "will you marry me?"

"of course i will!" clay said, still smiling, but his eyes held something warm within them - and george knew what that was; love.

"okay then, same, i will marry you."

-

with george tucked underneath clay's arm, he looked up at clay, and smiled. pressing a kiss to the blond's jaw. clay looked down at george and gave him a proper kiss. and their guests just couldn't help but melt at the sweet sight of the two true soulmates finally live and love without fear of what other people might say.

\--

"clay! how does it feel to be a husband-haver?" tommy grinned, bumping into clay's shoulder as his siblings followed, clay was alone at the moment - getting some food for him and george. his husband, was talking to the other guests, and clay couldn't help but admire how beautiful his husband looked underneath the lights of the chandelier, the natural glow settling on his face and illuminating his soft features.

husband, that felt good to think and say. they were husbands.

"congrats on getting married, clay!" tubbo smiled gently, and clay ruffled his little brother's hair with a smile.

"thanks tubs." clay replied, "you'll be a wife-haver soon, just farm them - and you'll have at least three." the freckled blond said to his other younger sibling.

"clay, stop giving tommy ideas." techno chimed in, "he might actually do it." he gently laughed; his long, pink locks were braided with flowers intertwined within the plait - george and tubbo insisted on fixing techno's hair before the wedding, and the pink haired man just couldn't say no to his little sibling and his brother's husband-to-be.

"he will end up with a stack of wives, clay." tubbo laughed, and clay laughed along with him. tubbo has helped niki, minx and george with the flowershop - he has grown a green thumb just like george. their frequent customers are the local cafe owning lesbian couple - flora and sunny.

flora would often buy a bouquet of sunflowers and roses for sunny whenever it was their anniversary, or whenever flora just felt like buying flowers for her little lady. she was stoic, but sunny always broke it down.

sunny, however, would often buy seeds and gardening tools to grow more plants and flowers in her garden, george often helps her out. flora and clay have grown closer, as well as sunny and george.

"you've seen the video i sent you, right?" wilbur asked, "the one where tommy was like - you're my girlfriend now."

wilbur was now a famous singer-songwriter artist, after his album 'your city gave me asthma' gained popularity, he continued making more and more music. spreading his feelings and art to the world. delphi, the cashier at sol's cafe, almost had a heart attack when george introduced her to wilbur - she wasn't a simp for the man, she was very gay, however she adored his music.

"ew! that's cringey, oh my." clay gagged, laughing and wheezing, if people didn't know him - they'll think he might have popped a lung. "that's when he got stuck in a tree and fell in a lake afterwards."

tommy and techno now own a shop, selling books, vinyls and discs. phil visits and helps, it's great bonding between the boys. sometimes, wilbur, tubbo, clay and george help out with tommy and techno's store - which always ends up with clay and tommy fucking something up. though they've grown, their old habits didn't really die.

"well, clay was acting all mopey and depressed. i had to sacrifice my dignity." tommy reasoned. the infamous 'you're my girlfriend now' clip was when tommy, tubbo, wilbur and techno went out to go get groceries for thanksgiving dinner. and even when clay hadn't told them why he was upset at the time, they could sense it. some would say siblings just have that sixth sense.

"yeah, sure. thanks man, i appreciated it." clay smiled.

"son!" they looked up and saw phil coming to their direction, clad in his own suit with a pastel green pocket square. he walked up to clay, who was wearing a white suit, and gave him a big hug. "i'm so proud of you."

"thanks, dad." clay murmured, hugging phil back.

"clay!" the blond looked to the left and saw his husband approaching him, he had just talked to darryl and nick, with the latter scarfing down the cupcakes, inevitably choking, and darryl slightly panicking for nick.

"oh! here's the husband." wilbur smiled, "our deal, george. we only allowed you to marry him so we can have a supplier of banana bread."

"sure." george grinned back, "i'll shower y'all with pastries, you'll get sick of it."

"no way we'll get sick of your baked goods! they're phenomenal!" tubbo cut george off.

"you don't even have to bake much, george." techno said, "just give wil loaves of bread and bananas, he'd be happy."

"oh right, i forgot about your weird eating habits." george smiled, "to each their own, i guess."

"just give him anything, his tastebuds are so dead he wouldn't be able to tell the difference." clay joked.

"wow guys keep talking like i'm not over here." wilbur laughed.

clay and george smiled, they'd say that this was the best day they ever had - but, every day for the past nine years they've been together has been the best.

\--

when george slept, he knew he was back in that weird dream plane. when he opened his eyes, what he saw was the blue sky, and he could smell the familiar scent of gasoline and blood. rolling over, he fell into a deep, body of water. george couldn't breathe, but he couldn't bring himself to struggle, the brit had accepted his fate - it was just a dream after all, he didn't know what would happen if he allowed himself to drown.

but arms pulled him out of the water, and george was greeted by the warmth of his parents' arms around him.

"george, our sweet boy." his mum muttered into his hair. george pulled back and saw that it was indeed his parents.

"mum, dad!" he exhaled, leaning more into their touch. george had missed his parents so much.

"darling, we're so proud of you." his dad said, "we're very, very proud of you."

"yes, we really are. you found yourself a good man, you found yourself a family. and you've become a fine man." his mum said, a smile on her face.

"i missed you guys." george said, silently crying.

"we missed you too." george's dad replied, "we're sorry we had to go so soon, honey."

"you don't have to apologize, i'm just glad you're back here." george smiled through his tears, and his parents looked at each other worriedly.

"we can't stay long, george." his mum said gently.

"but mum-" george protested.

"george, you don't belong in this plane, you can't stay here for long." his mum explained, "but, don't ever forget that we love you so much."

"i love you too." george smiled, accepting the reality. and as his parents disappeared, he found himself at a different place.

he opened his eyes to see that he was seated infront of a pond. the view was very serene, and the waters were calm and stagnant like glass. george looked down at his hands, stained with dirt and grass.

"what a fine day today is." he heard someone, an old man. george turned around to see the old guy, but he looked like him - or rather, an older version of him. george also noticed that the old him wore the same clothes he was wearing before he passed, after wilbur visited their old kingdom.

the older george stopped when he saw the young man seated in front of the pond. it was him. "oh, hello there. are you from the past or the future?"

"the future." george responded, and the old man hummed in acknowledgement.

"if you can travel here, then that means...you almost died?" he asked.

"yes, we were involved in a car accident." george explained.

"i see." the old man hummed, "from what i know, once you've relived through your past life, this will be the last time you'll see me, or, return to this dreamland."

the old man looked up at the sky, before asking george a question.

"are you happy?" the old man asked, and george looked down at the wedding ring on his finger, and smiled. "yes, very."

"i'm glad. glad to know that we'll be happy someday." the old man smiled, leaning against a tree. "i feel a sense of fulfillment, running an orphanage, but i do miss him."

"dream?" george asked. the old man nodded, time wasn't cruel to him, or maybe it was.

"yes, i miss him very much." he replied, "sometimes, when i look at one of the children's eyes - i see him, the same passion and drive." he continued, "what do you do in your free time?"

"i have a flowershop, and tubbo helps me run it." george smiled, "flora, sunny and i are in good terms."

george kind of understood why his past self didn't refer to themselves as we, they were so similar yet so different - even if they were the same person, at the same time, they weren't.

"that's good, george." the old man took a deep breath before smiling at george. "enjoy life to the fullest, george. i know i seem all mopey and sad because of dream's passing, which, i am, but please remember that you are your own person, however - spending your life with someone can be fulfilling. be yourself, stand even if he's not with you, but be your best selves together." he said, "i'll go in now, i feel rather tired. i think my time has run out."

"of course." george smiled, "rest well."

\--

george woke up, to find clay hugging him. snoring loudly, with his head placed on top of george's. the brit smiled, and snuggled closer to the blond. clay woke up because george was moving around too much, but he wasn't mad - instead, he smiled, pressing a light kiss on george's forehead.

"goodmorning, husband." clay said, his voice raspy and coated in sleep.

"goodmorning to you too, my darling husband." george smiled.

"do we have plans today?" clay asked, and george cuddled closer to the taller blond.

"no." george answered simply, "let's just stay here."

clay looked down at his husband, and smiled. "yeah, we should."

they laid there in silence, basking in each other's presence. the sunlight streamed and dripped down their windows onto their wooden floors, and the bed was messy, filled with duvets and blankets. clay and george laid there on the bed, their figures and limbs entangled within each other.

clay stared lovingly at george, his beautiful boy. his other half.

"hey, george?" clay broke the comfortable silence, with george humming in question. "i love you." he continued, giving george a kiss on the forehead.

"i love you, too." george smiled, moving up and closer to clay's face, giving him a proper kiss.

there they stayed, two people genuinely inlove with each other, and fate didn't dare break them apart.

\--fin

2125 words - February 4, 2021


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